Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights - Ohio

Circumstances That Are Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 2151.414(E)

A court may terminate parental rights if it finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that it is in the best interests of the child and that any of the following apply:

• The child is abandoned.
• The child is orphaned, and there are no relatives of the child who are able to take permanent custody.
• The child has been in out-of-home care for 12 months or more of a consecutive 22-month period, and the child cannot be placed with either of the child's parents within a reasonable time or should not be placed with the child's parents.
• The parent has failed continuously and repeatedly to substantially remedy the conditions causing the child to be placed outside the child's home.
• Chronic mental illness, emotional illness, mental retardation, physical disability, or chemical dependency makes the parent unable to provide an adequate permanent home for the child.
• The parent committed abuse against the child or caused or allowed the child to suffer neglect.
• The parent has demonstrated a lack of commitment toward the child by failing to regularly support, visit, or communicate with the child when able to do so.
• The parent has been convicted of an offense against the person, including endangering children, sexual assault, prostitution, aggravated menacing, domestic violence, and kidnapping, and the child or a sibling of the child was a victim of the offense, or the parent has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter, a sibling of the child was the victim of the offense, and the parent who committed the offense poses an ongoing danger to the child or a sibling of the child.
• The parent is incarcerated for an offense committed against the child or a sibling of the child.
• The parent has been convicted of one of the following:
  • Murder or voluntary manslaughter and the victim was a sibling of the child or another child in the parent's household
  • Assault and the victim is the child, a sibling of the child, or another child in the parent's household
  • Endangering children and the child, a sibling of the child, or another child in the parent's household is the victim
  • Rape, sexual battery, or other sexual offense and the victim is the child, a sibling of the child, or another child in the parent's household
  • A conspiracy or attempt to commit, or complicity in committing, murder, manslaughter, or sexual offense
• The parent has repeatedly withheld medical treatment or food from the child when the parent has the means to provide the treatment or food.
• The parent has placed the child at substantial risk of harm two or more times due to alcohol or drug abuse and has rejected treatment two or more times.
• The parent has abandoned the child.
• The parent has had parental rights involuntarily terminated with respect to a sibling of the child, and the parent has failed to provide clear and convincing evidence to prove that he or she can provide a secure home for the child.
• The parent is incarcerated and will not be available to care for the child for at least 18 months.
• The parent is repeatedly incarcerated, and the repeated incarceration prevents the parent from providing care for the child.
• The parent for any reason is unwilling to provide food, clothing, shelter, and other basic necessities for the child or prevent the child from suffering abuse or neglect.

Circumstances That Are Exceptions to Termination of Parental Rights

Citation: Ann. Code § 2151.413

An agency shall not file a motion for permanent custody if either of the following apply:

• The agency documents in the case plan or permanency plan a compelling reason that permanent custody is not in the best interests of the child.
• If reasonable efforts to return the child to the child's home are required under § 2151.419, the agency has not provided the services required by the case plan to the parents of the child or the child to ensure the safe return of the child to the child's home.

Circumstances Allowing Reinstatement of Parental Rights

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.