Trends in Termination of Parental Rights
and Suspended Judgments
Presented by Margaret Burt
NYS Citizens' Coalition for Children, Inc.
13th Annual Statewide Adoption Training Conference
Adoption 2002: Linking Promises to Possibilities
May 10, 2002 • Albany New York

 

PERMANENCY ALTERNATIVES
TO TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS

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 judgments 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

5/23/02