Massachusetts child welfare officials have asked a judge to return a teenage girl from Connecticut at the center of a custody dispute based on conflicting medical diagnoses to her parents.
The Boston Globe reports that the Department of Children and Families last week said 15-year-old Justina Pelletier’s (pell-uh-TEERZ') parents have met the conditions asked of them. Attorneys for the Pelletiers, of West Hartford, Connecticut, were notified earlier this week.
Judge Joseph Johnston had given Massachusetts permanent custody of Justina in March, after a public battle involving dueling diagnoses from doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital and Tufts Medical Center, and allegations of medical child abuse against her parents.
Conditions included following up on a Tufts care plan for Justina and participation in family therapy.
It was not immediately clear when the judge would rule.
The young girl posted a video on Facebook recently, begging to be able to return to her parents.
“All I really want is to be with my family and friends,” the girl says, her voice faltering at times.
“You can do it. You’re the one that’s judging this. Please let me go home.”
Justina’s attorneys say that the new support from the DCF is a “dramatic reversal.”
Alec Loftus, spokesman for the state health and human services secretary, confirmed to Fox News that the two parties are now in agreement.
“We are pleased that the family has engaged around the reunification plan and we have filed papers in court to support our shared goal of bringing Justina home,” he said.
The attorneys for Pelletier are now asking the judge to speed up the ruling since the agreement has been released.
The judge issued a June 13 deadline for all paperwork to be filed and said that a ruling will be made on or before June 20.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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