Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights - Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Date: August 2025

Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights
Citation: Tribal Ord. 2018-ORD-013, §§ 10, 11

The court may order a modification of parental rights if the following conditions have been met:

  • Custody of the child has been removed from the parent.
  • The court finds, based on clear and convincing evidence, that the parent is unwilling or unable to provide a home for the child free from jeopardy in a time that is reasonable in light of the child's needs.
  • Modification is in the best interests of the child.

In deciding whether to modify parental rights, the court shall consider the needs of the child, the child's age, the child's Tribal ties and attachment to relevant persons, the child's ability to integrate into a home, and the child's expressed wishes regarding modification.

A permanent modification of parental rights will allow the child to go through a customary adoption. 

Note: The ordinance does not define 'customary adoption,' but § 5 of the ordinance does define 'open adoption' as the creation of a permanent parent-child relationship with someone other than the child's birth parents in which the birth parents are allowed to maintain a relationship with the child because the adoption is not intended to permanently deprive the child of connections to or knowledge of his or her birth family. 

A termination of parental rights petition may be filed by the child's legal custodian when the child has been abandoned or when active efforts to reunify the family are not required because of one of the following aggravating factors:

  • The parent has subjected the child to rape, gross sexual misconduct, sexual abuse, incest, aggravated assault, kidnapping, promotion of prostitution, abandonment, torture, or chronic treatment that is heinous to the Tribe's culture.
  • The parent has refused for 6 months to comply with the treatment required in a reunification plan regarding the child.
  • The parent has been convicted of any of the following crimes, and the victim was a child for whom the parent was responsible or was a member of the household lived in or frequented by the parent:
    • Murder or manslaughter
    • Aiding, conspiring, or soliciting murder or manslaughter
    • Felony assault that results in serious bodily injury
  • The parental rights of the parent to a sibling have been involuntarily terminated.

The court may order the termination of parental rights when the Tribe has shown the following by clear and convincing evidence:

  • The parent is unwilling to provide a home for the child free from jeopardy in a time that is reasonable considering the child's needs.
  • Continued contact between the child and his or her parent would be harmful and inherently dangerous to the child.
  • It is in the best interests of the child.
  • Modification of parental rights is not appropriate.

Timeframes for Termination Proceedings
Citation: Tribal Ord. 2018-ORD-013, §§ 10, 11

A petition for modification of parental rights may be filed by the child's legal custodian no earlier than 3 months after the Tribal court issues a removal order.

The Tribe does not support the termination of parental rights except in rare cases. When appropriate and in the best interests of the child, modification of parental rights and customary adoption are the preferred permanency plan.

A termination of parental rights petition may be filed by the child's legal custodian no earlier than 3 months after a removal order issued by the Tribal court. The child's legal custodian shall file a termination of parental rights petition if the child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the Tribe for 15 of the most recent 22 months. 

The child's legal custodian may file a termination of parental rights petition within 60 days of a Tribal court determination that the child has been abandoned or that active efforts to reunify the family are not being made because of the presence of an aggravating factor.

Exceptions
Citation: Tribal Ord. 2018-ORD-013

A termination of parental rights petition need not be filed if any of the following applies:

  • The child is being cared for by a relative.
  • The Tribal Health and Human Services Department (THHSD) has not provided all the services specified in the case plan.
  • A modification of parental rights petition has been filed as a precursor to an adoption.
  • The THHSD can otherwise show a compelling reason why filing the petition would be contrary to the best interests of the child.

When Parental Rights May Be Reinstated
Citation: Tribal Ord. 2018-ORD-013, § 10

The court may review a modification order of parental rights at the request of the parents or the THHSD if any of the following apply:

  • There is no final permanency order in effect for 1 year after the entry of the final order modifying parental rights.
  • The adoption of the child fails.
  • The adoptive parent is deceased.

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