The ABC's of TPR's
Presented by Margaret Burt
NYS Citizens' Coalition for Children, Inc.
17th Annual Statewide Adoption Training Conference
Adoption 2006: There's No Place like Home
May 12-13, 2006 • Albany New York
PERMANENCY ALTERNATIVES TO TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS
By Margaret Burt, Esq.
If a child in foster care is not going to be returning home - what are the alternatives?
The answer often - traditional termination of parental rights procedures with goal of adoption.
- final, safe, permanent
- often would include a subsidy for child
- not enough to simply be the right thing for the child law mandates that it can only happen with good casework, good legal work on part of agency
- can take years, more if agency and/or court allow suspended judgements or if appeals occur
- if child is close to or over 14 and does not want to be adopted - this option may not make sense
Are there other alternatives?
Traditional surrender by parents with goal of adoption.
- final, safe, permanent
- often would include a subsidy for child
- could be quicker than TPR, although may take a long time for parent to come to decision, no appeal
- can’t be mandated or required of parent
- if child is close to or over 14 and does not want to be adopted - this option may not make sense
Surrender by parents with conditions -- adoption within the conditions.
- safe, permanent
- may be shorter than TPR process, may take awhile to negotiate conditions, no appeal
- lingering questions on finality
- often would include a subsidy for child
- if child is close to or over 14 and does not want to be adopted - this option may not make sense
Court ordered custody
- ends agency’s custody of child which may have good and bad points
- ends agency monetary support of child
- not permanent and custodian will have to deal with that themselves
- parent might be more willing to agree to this alternative than others so may be quicker
- allows parent to be able to maintain relationship and even obtain child back
- very easy to do if parent is in agreement, hard if parent is opposed
Court ordered guardianship
- same advantages and disadvantages as custody plus often viewed by others as “more permanent” than custody
- can take a little longer than custody to get court order as requires a check of SCR
Independent living
- really means growing up in foster care
- can be considered when none of above are viable
- child would continue to receive agency assistance and subsidy
- child would be assisted to learn to live as productive adult
Adult custodial care situations
- really means growing up in foster care
- can be considered when none of above are viable
- child would continue to receive agency assistance and subsidy
- agency would help child transition into an appropriate adult placement
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NYS Citizens' Coalition for Children, Inc.
410 East Upland Road • Ithaca, NY 14850
607-272-0034 • FAX 607-272-0035
office@nysccc.org
06/14/06