Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights - Illinois

Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights
Citation: Comp. Stat. Ch. 705, §§ 405/1-2; 405/2-13; Ch 750, § 50/1

Provided that a ground for unfitness under chapter 750, § 50/1 can be met, it may be appropriate to expedite termination of parental rights, as follows:

• When reasonable efforts are inappropriate or have been provided and were unsuccessful, and there are aggravating circumstances, including, but not limited to, those cases in which any of the following is true:
  • The child or another child of that child's parent was abandoned, tortured, or chronically abused.
  • The parent is criminally convicted of first- or second-degree murder of any child, attempt or conspiracy to commit first- or second-degree murder of any child, solicitation to commit murder of any child, aggravated assault, or aggravated criminal sexual assault.
• When the parental rights of a parent with respect to another child have been involuntarily terminated
• When the parent's incapacity to care for the child, combined with an extremely poor prognosis for treatment or rehabilitation, justifies expedited termination of parental rights

A petition to terminate parental rights may be filed if any of the following apply:

• A minor has been in foster care for 15 months of the most recent 22 months.
• A minor younger than 2 years has been abandoned.
• The parent has been criminally convicted of any of the following:
  • Murder or attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit murder of any child
  • Aggravated battery, aggravated battery of a child, or felony domestic battery, any of which has resulted in serious injury to the minor or a sibling of the minor
  • Predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual, sexual exploitation of a child, permitting sexual abuse of a child, or criminal sexual assault

The grounds of unfitness are any one or more of the following:

• Abandonment of the child
• Abandonment of a newborn in a hospital or in any setting where the evidence suggests that the parent intended to relinquish his or her parental rights
• Failure to maintain a reasonable degree of interest, concern, or responsibility as to the child's welfare
• Substantial neglect of the child if continuous or repeated.
• Extreme or repeated cruelty to the child
• Failure to protect the child from conditions within an environment injurious to the child's welfare
• Other neglect of, or misconduct toward, the child
• Open and notorious adultery or fornication
• Habitual drunkenness or addiction to drugs other than those prescribed by a physician
• Failure to demonstrate a reasonable degree of interest, concern, or responsibility as to the welfare of a newborn during the first 30 days after the child's birth
• Failure by a parent to make reasonable efforts to correct the conditions that were the basis for the removal of the child from the parent during any 9-month period following the adjudication of abuse or neglect of the child
• Evidence of intent to forego parental rights, as evidenced by either of the following:
  • Failure of the parent for a period of 12 months to visit the child, to communicate with the child or agency, although able to do so and not prevented from doing so by an agency or by court order, or to maintain contact with or plan for the future of the child, although physically able to do so
  • Failure of the father, when he and the child's mother are not married to each other at the time of the child's birth, to commence legal proceedings to establish his paternity or to make a good faith effort to pay a reasonable amount of the expenses related to the birth of the child and to provide a reasonable amount for the financial support of the child
• Repeated or continuous failure by the parents, although physically and financially able, to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, or shelter
• Inability to discharge parental responsibilities due to  mental impairment, mental illness, an intellectual disability, or a  developmental disability
• Incarceration of the parent, and prior to incarceration, the parent had little or no contact with the child or provided little or no support for the child, and the parent's incarceration will prevent the parent from discharging his or her parental responsibilities for more than 2 years
• Incarceration of the parent and repeated incarceration have prevented the parent from discharging his or her parental responsibilities for the child

Timeframes for Termination Proceedings
Citation: Comp. Stat. Ch. 705, § 405/2-13

When a child has been in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months, the Department of Children and Family Services shall request the State's Attorney to file a petition for termination of the parent's parental rights unless good cause exists that filing a petition to terminate parental rights is contrary to the child's best interests.

Exceptions 
Citation: Comp. Stat. Ch. 705, § 405/2-13

Good cause for not filing a petition for terminating a parent's parental rights exists in the following circumstances:

• The child is being cared for by a relative.
• The department has documented in the case plan a compelling reason for determining that filing a petition would not be in the best interests of the child.
• The court has found that, within the preceding 12 months, the department has failed to make reasonable efforts to reunify the child and family.
• The parent is incarcerated, or the parent's prior incarceration is a significant factor in why the child has been in foster care for 15 months out of any 22-month period, the parent maintains a meaningful role in the child's life, and the department has not documented another reason why it would otherwise be appropriate to file a petition to terminate parental rights.
• The department has not yet met with the child's caregiver to discuss the permanency goals of guardianship and adoption.

The assessment of whether an incarcerated parent maintains a meaningful role in the child's life may include consideration of the following:

• The child's best interests
• The parent's expressions or acts of manifesting concern for the child, such as letters, telephone calls, visits, and other forms of communication with the child, and the impact of the communication on the child
• The parent's efforts to communicate with and work with the department in complying with the service plan and repairing, maintaining, or building the parent-child relationship
• Any limitations in the parent's access to family support programs, therapeutic services, visiting opportunities, telephone and mail services, and meaningful participation in court proceedings

When Parental Rights May Be Reinstated
Citation: Comp. Stat. Ch. 705, § 405/2-34

A motion to reinstate parental rights may be filed only by the department or by the minor regarding any child who is presently a ward of the court when all the following conditions are met:

• The child's parent consented to the child's adoption, or the parent's rights were terminated pursuant to a finding of unfitness.
• Subsequent to that, the child has remained a ward of the court.
• The child is not currently in a placement likely to achieve permanency.
• It is in the child's best interests that parental rights be reinstated.
• The parent named in the motion wishes parental rights to be reinstated, and it is currently appropriate to have rights reinstated.
• More than 3 years have passed since the parent's parental rights were terminated.
• The child is aged 13 or older, or the younger sibling of a child who is aged 13 or older for whom reinstatement of parental rights is being sought, and the younger sibling independently meets the above criteria.
• If the court has previously denied a motion to reinstate parental rights, there has been a substantial change in circumstances following the denial of the earlier motion.

Any party may file a motion to dismiss the motion with prejudice on the basis that, after parental rights were terminated, the parent has intentionally acted to prevent the child from being adopted or intentionally acted to disrupt the child's adoption.

The court shall not grant a motion for reinstatement of parental rights unless the court finds that the motion is supported by clear and convincing evidence. The court shall consider the reasons why the child was initially brought to the attention of the court, the history of the child's case as it relates to the parent seeking reinstatement, and the current circumstances of the parent for whom reinstatement of rights is sought.