Juvenile Court Rules  Rules for the Care and Protection of Children: Rule 1. Scope of rules

These rules apply to all actions in the Juvenile Court Department for the care and protection of children, including actions for guardianship of minors, child support, parentage, name change and actions seeking to dispense with parental consent to adoption, custody, guardianship or any other disposition of the child pursuant to G. L. c. 119 and c. 210.

Throughout these rules "paternity" has been replaced by the gender-neutral term "parentage." See Partenan v. Gallagher, 475 Mass. 632 (2016).

See G. L. c. 119, § 24 (care and protection), c. 190B, §§ 1-401 and 5-101 (guardianship of minors), c. 209C, § 3(c) (parentage and support), c. 119, § 28 (temporary support), and c. 210, § 1 (authority of the Juvenile Court to hear cases pursuant to c. 210 with respect to pending proceedings in the Juvenile Court). Proceedings that seek equitable relief are governed by the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure, including proceedings pursuant to G. L. c. 210, § 6D (enforcement of post-adoption agreements). See G. L. c. 218, § 59 and Mass. R. Civ. P., Rule 1. Permanency Hearings are governed by the Massachusetts Trial Court Rule VI Uniform Rules for Permanency Hearings.