Petition of the Department of Social Services

The unwed mother of the child has appealed from decrees adverse to her which have been entered in a Probate Court on separate petitions filed by the Department of Social Services (department) (1) to obtain custody of the child (G. L. c. 119, § 23[C], as appearing in St. 1973, c. 925, § 40) and (2) to dispense with any need for consent to adoption of the child (G. L. c. 210, § 3[6] [as most recently amended by St. 1983, c. 437] and [c] [as appearing in St. 1972, c. 800, § 2]). Both parents suffer from chronic mental illness. The child was bom in the Westborough State Hospital without benefit…