Adoption of Gregory

This case raises the first impression question whether the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12132 (2000), applies to the termination of parental rights proceedings. The parents appeal from a judgment of the juvenile session of the District Court dispensing with their consent to adoption of their son pursuant to G. L. c. 210, § 3. We transferred the case to this court on our own motion. The father claims that the judge erred in terminating his parental rights because the Department of Social Services (department) failed to accommodate his disabilities in its provision of…