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Child in Need of Services - C.H.I.N.S

Unfortunately, some children have a more difficult time making their way through childhood than others. Parents may find that it has become difficult, if not impossible to exert any influence or control over their child’s behavior. The parents may feel that without some sort of outside help, their child’s behavior may result in permanent damage to the child’s future or possibly that the child may be endangering him or herself, or others. In these types of circumstances, parents may turn to the Court system for aid through use of a C.H.I.N.S. Petition or other Massachusetts child custody action.

Do you need legal assistance regarding C.H.I.N.S. or Massachusetts Child Custody? The lawyers at KCL can help with your Child in Need of Services. Contact us today!

The C.H.I.N.S. petition may be brought by the child’s parents or guardian, a police officer or supervisor of school attendance under four possible grounds:

  • Runaway – child under age of 17 who persistently runs away from the home of his/her parent or guardian;
  • Stubborn child – child under the age of 17 who refuses to obey his parent’s or guardian’s reasonable and legal rules to the point where the parents are unable to provide care or protection for the child;
  • Truancy – child under the age of 17 who fails to attend school; and
  • Persistent School Offender – child under the age of 16 who persistently breaks the school’s legal and reasonable regulations.

C.H.I.N.S. evaluates a child’s particular issues to determine necessary services including medical, psychiatric or drug counseling to help the child through a difficult time. The court may also find that it is in the child’s best interest that she/he remain in the parental home, be placed with another family member or adult or be placed under the care of the Department of Social Services.

KCL attorneys are well equipped to represent either the parent or child throughout the C.H.I.N.S Petition proceedings, to best access available services for the child and to protect the individual rights of either the child or parent(s). If a Massachusetts child custody dilemma has made things difficult for a child, it may be necessary to proceed with a C.H.I.N.S. Petition.

Do you need legal assistance regarding C.H.I.N.S. or Massachusetts Child Custody? The lawyers at KCL can help with your Child in Need of Services. Contact us today!
 
 
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