Massachusetts Guidelines for Judicial Practice Abuse Prevention Proceedings Guideline 10:05

In appropriate cases, the court may inform parents of a minor defendant subject to a c. 209A order of the availability of a Child Requiring Assistance (CRA) action.SeeGuideline 1:06 Minors as Plaintiffs in c. 209A Actions. The filing of a CRA application is not meant to be a substitute for a c. 209A order. Rather, the initiation of a CRA proceeding may offer a means of providing treatment and rehabilitative services to a child, while the c. 209A order ensures protection for the household members.

One category of domestic abuse involves abusive conduct by a child against a parent, sibling, grandparent, or other household member. A Child Requiring Assistance (CRA) application may be filed by a parent or legal guardian where the child “repeatedly refuses to obey the lawful and reasonable commands” of the parent or guardian resulting in an “inability to adequately care for and protect” the child.G.L. c. 119, § 39E. In such cases, the court can refer the parent or legal guardian to the appropriate Juvenile Court to file the required application to initiate the CRA proceeding.SeeG.L. c. 119, §§ 39E--39I.

While CRA actions are only available until the child's eighteenth birthday, such actions should still be pursued even if the child is close to their eighteenth birthday as the availability of a court clinician evaluation and initiation of services through this procedure, even if only for a short period of time, can be beneficial and may result in identifying services available to persons over the age of eighteen.