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Determining the Best Interests of the Child
State Statutes Series

Author(s):  Child Welfare Information Gateway

Year Published:  2005

Current through July 2005

To see how your State addresses this issue, visit the State Statutes Search.

Whenever a court must make a determination as to the custody and/or placement of a child, or must decide on a petition for termination of parental rights, the court must weigh whether that decision will be in the best interests of the child.

"Best interests of the child" generally refers to the deliberation that courts undertake when deciding who is best suited to take care of a child. Factors that may be considered by the court when making a best interests determination can include:

• The age and sex of the child
• The mental and physical health of the child
• The mental and physical health of the parents
• The lifestyle and other social factors of the parents
• The emotional ties between the parents and the child
• The ability of the parents to provide the child with food, shelter, clothing, and medical care
• The child's established ties to school, home, community, and religious institutions
• The child's preference ¹

All States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands require that the child's best interests be considered whenever decisions regarding a child's placement are made. Many States include language in their statutes that detail factors that must be considered when making determinations regarding the best interests of the child. The statutes in some other States are more general and give more discretion to the courts.

To see how your State addresses this issue, visit the State Statutes Search.

To find information on all of the States and territories, view the complete printable PDF, Determining the Best Interests of the Child: Summary of State Laws. (PDF - 303 KB)

¹ Adapted from Nolo's Legal Glossary (Berkeley, CA, 2005). Back

This publication is a product of the State Statutes Series prepared by Child Welfare Information Gateway. While every attempt has been made to be complete, additional information on these topics may be in other sections of a State's code as well as in agency regulations, case law, and informal practices and procedures.

Updated on August 23, 2007