In re Adoption Leroy

The father appeals from a Juvenile Court decree terminating his parental rights under G. L. c. 119, § 26, placing the child in the care of the Department of Children and Families (department), and approving the department's adoption plan.3 He argues that the department failed to use reasonable efforts to reunify him and the child, that the judge's finding of parental unfitness was clearly erroneous, and that the judge took an overly active role in the proceedings, thereby denying the father a fair trial. We affirm.

Background. On April 5, 2013, the department responded to a report filed by a…