Adoption of Lorna

The parents of Lorna and Abby appeal from decrees of a District Court adjudicating their children in need of care and protection pursuant to G. L. c. 119, § 26, and simultaneously dispensing with the need for their consent to adoption, pursuant to G. L. c. 119, § 26(4), and G. L. c. 210, § 3. They challenge the sufficiency of the evidence and claim that the judge improperly shifted the burden of proof to them to prove their fitness as parents. The children appeal the decrees as to the mother, adopting the arguments made on appeal by her, amplifying some. We affirm.

The following narrative…