Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights - Aleut Community of St. Paul Island

Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights
Citation: Tribal Code §§ 6.15.50; 6.10.80

The Tribal court may terminate parental rights of a parent subsequent to a finding that the parent has abandoned the child. A presumption exists that the parental relationship has been broken if the parent has not contacted or financially supported the child for 12 consecutive months or has only had marginal contact in 24 of the most recent 48 months. The burden shall be on the parent to prove the parental relationship has not been broken.

The Tribal court may terminate the parental rights of a parent after a finding that the child is in need of protection in accordance with § 6.10.80. This finding can be supported by clear and convincing evidence of the following:

• The court has entered an order stating what the parent was required to accomplish in order to have the child returned, but the parent has failed within the time required by the court order to accomplish those requirements.
• There is a substantial probability of future abuse or neglect if the child is returned to the parent.
• The conditions that cause the child to meet the definition of a child in need of protection under § 6.10.80 are unlikely to improve within the ordered time frame.
• Under no reasonable circumstances can the welfare of the child be served by the continuation of the parent-child relationship, and termination of parental rights will be in the child's best interests.

The term 'child in need of protection' can mean any of the following:

• The child has no parent, guardian, or custodian available, willing, or capable of caring for him or her.
• The child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant physical injury as a result of abuse or neglect.
• The child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant emotional damage as a result of abuse or neglect.
• The child has been sexually abused or sexually exploited.
• The child has not been provided with adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, or care and control by the child's parent, guardian, or custodian, which is necessary for the child's health, safety, or welfare, and the deprivation is not due to the lack of financial resources available to the parent, guardian, or custodian.
• The child has been placed at an unreasonable risk with respect to his or her health, safety, or welfare by failure of the parent, guardian, or custodian to intervene to eliminate the risk when that person knew or should have known of the risk.
• The child was born addicted or exposed to alcohol, a controlled substance, or another drug harmful to the physical or mental welfare of the child.
• The child has witnessed domestic violence, and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian failed to eliminate the risk of the child witnessing domestic violence when that person knew or should have known of the risk.
• The child has been beyond the reasonable control of his or her parent, guardian, or custodian and acted in ways that placed the child's health, safety, and welfare at risk.

Timeframes for Termination Proceedings

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Exceptions

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

When Parental Rights May Be Reinstated

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.