Mass. Gen. Laws » Part II Title III Chapter 210
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 210, § 5A (2026)

Children under fourteen; adoption; regulations; removals

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 5A. Upon the filing of a petition for adoption of a child under the age of fourteen, notice shall be given to the department of children and families which shall make appropriate inquiry to determine the condition and antecedents of the child for the purpose of ascertaining whether he is a proper subject for adoption and to determine whether the petitioners and their home are suitable for the proper rearing of the child. The department shall submit to the court not later than thirty days after receipt of such notice such written report as will give the court full knowledge as to the desirability of the proposed adoption. In any petition for adoption the department shall submit to the court verification that the adoptee is not registered with the federal register for missing children and the central register. If the report of the department is not submitted to the court within said thirty days, upon motion of the petitioner, seven days notice of which shall be given to the department by service in hand or by certified mail, return receipt requested, the court shall, if the court finds that the department has made substantial progress but has not completed the report due to circumstances beyond the department's control, grant the department up to an additional thirty days in which to complete the report and if the court does not so find, the court shall appoint any charitable corporation organized under general or special laws of the commonwealth for the purpose of engaging in the care of children and principally so engaged to conduct such inquiry, and the report thereof shall have the same force and effect as a report of the department. The court may require such further investigation and report by the department as may be necessary. All reports submitted hereunder shall be filed separate and apart from the other papers in the case, and shall not at any time be open to inspection except by the parties and their attorneys, unless the court, for good cause shown, shall otherwise order. No decree shall be made upon such a petition until such report has been received, nor until the child shall have resided for not less than six months in the home of the petitioner; provided, that for good cause shown the court may, in its discretion, waive the requirement of residence. This section shall not apply in the case of a petition for adoption presented, sponsored or recommended by any charitable corporation organized under general or special laws of the commonwealth for the purpose of engaging in the care of children and principally so engaged; provided, however, that such petitions shall be accompanied by a written report from said charitable corporation, which report shall be of the same force and effect as a report of the department of children and families; and further provided, that no decree shall be made upon such a petition in the case of a child who has resided for less than six months in the home of the petitioner, except that, for good cause shown, the court may, in its discretion, waive the requirement of residence. Whenever the requirement of residence in the home of the petitioner is waived under this section, the probate judge shall file a memorandum setting forth the facts upon which such waiver was based.

At any time after the report has been filed, the court after notice and hearing shall order the removal of the child from the proposed adoption home if, in the opinion of the court, such removal is in the best interests of the child. If such removal is ordered, the court shall appoint a guardian who shall be a relative of the child, a person designated by the department of children and families or an agency licensed by the department to have custody of the child, with authority to provide for his future care.

The court may waive the provisions of this section in the case of a petition for the adoption of a child of one of the parties petitioning for said adoption.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 15 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1975–2021 · leading case: Adoption of Galen, 680 N.E.2d 70 (Mass. 1997).
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Adoption of Galen, 680 N.E.2d 70 (Mass. 1997). · cites it 7× “The petitioners, two women whom we shall call Nancy and Laura, challenge an order entered by a judge *202 of the Suffolk Division of the Probate and Family Court Department denying their motion to waive a Department of Social Services (department) home study pursuant to G. L. c.…”
Adoption of a Minor, 438 N.E.2d 38 (Mass. 1982). · cites it 2× “Its participation, and the report it must submit under G. L. c. 210, § 5A, 5 ensure that the judge has the full benefit of its views and expertise.”
Petition of Dept. of Pub. Welfare, 381 N.E.2d 565 (Mass. 1978). “The actual adoption proceeding under G. L. c. 210, § 5A, "is separate and must be independently conducted and proved.”
Adoption of a Minor, 327 N.E.2d 875 (Mass. 1975). · cites it 2× “We hold that in the totality of circumstances, including the absence of a written report by the department pursuant to G. L. c. 210, § 5A, as amended by St. 1972, c.”
Culliton v. Beth Israel Deaconess Med. Ctr., 435 Mass. 285 (Mass. 2001). “The duties and responsibilities of parenthood (for example, support and custody) would he with the gestational carrier for at least four days; the gestational carrier could be free to surrender the children for adoption; and the *291 genetic parents of the children would be…”
Duro v. Duro, 467 N.E.2d 165 (Mass. 1984). “119, § 24 (report of expert in care and protection proceeding); G. L. c. 210, § 5A (investigative report in adoption proceeding).”
Petition of the Dep't of Soc. Servs. to Dispense With Consent to Adoption, 493 N.E.2d 197 (Mass. 1986). “These petitions were filed in the Probate and Family Court for Essex County along with plans prepared by the Merrimac Valley Catholic Charities pursuant to G. L. c. 210, § 5A (1984 ed.), 1 for each of the three children.”
Petition of the Dep't of Soc. Servs. to Dispense With Consent to Adoption, 429 N.E.2d 685 (Mass. 1981). “The actual adoption proceeding is brought pursuant to G. L. c. 210, § 5A, and “must be independently conducted and proved.”
In the Matter of Carson, 382 N.E.2d 1116 (Mass. App. Ct. 1978). · cites it 2× “We note also that the judge had before him a report from the Department of Public Welfare under the provisions of G.L.c. 210, § 5A, the obvious purpose of which is to protect the best interests of the child.”
Adoption of Derrick, 614 N.E.2d 987 (Mass. 1993). “G. L. c. 210, § 5A. These provisions *445 do not specifically concern the situation of a parent who voluntarily consented to an adoption.”
Adoption of William, 651 N.E.2d 849 (Mass. App. Ct. 1995). “See G. L. c. 210, § 5A. In any event, the record indicates that the DSS adoption plan was entered as an exhibit at the trial, fully considered by the judge in accordance with G.”
Adoption of a Minor, 494 N.E.2d 1033 (Mass. App. Ct. 1986). “As the department is a party, “ [i]ts *471 participation, and the report it must submit under G. L. c. 210, § 5A, ensure that the judge has the full benefit of its views and expertise.”
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