Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights - Pala Band of Mission Indians

Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights
Citation: Tribal Ord. No. 21, Ch. 2, §§ 8; 13; Ch. 3, § 1

The court is not required to order active efforts to reunify the family when any of the following applies:

• The parent has been convicted of murder or involuntary manslaughter or aiding, abetting, attempting, conspiring, or soliciting to commit a murder or involuntary manslaughter.
• The parent has been convicted of felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to the child or another child of the parent.
• The parent's parental rights to a sibling have been involuntarily terminated.
• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances, including, but not limited to, abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, and sexual abuse.
• The parent has been convicted of a crime involving domestic violence, sexual assault, possession or distribution of controlled substances, or gang activity.
• The parent has allowed a person to reside in his or her home who has been convicted of any of the criminal offenses listed above.
• The parent has allowed a person convicted of any of these criminal offenses to be near or alone with a child.
• There is substantial evidence that a parent or another person in the child's household has committed sexual assault against a child. 

The court may terminate parental rights upon any of the following grounds:

• Continued placement of the child with his or her parent is likely to result in serious emotional or physical damage to the child.
• The parents have subjected the child to sexual, physical, or emotional abuse.
• The parents have failed reasonable reunification efforts, and it is documented in the case plan that adoption is in the child's best interests.
• The parent has had minimal contact with the child and exhibited extreme disinterest for 6 months or more.
• The parent suffers from drug or alcohol impairment that creates an inability to care for the child and has refused or failed to respond to substantial treatment efforts.
• A father has not sought paternity or protection of the child within 30 days of the child's birth.
• The parental rights of the parent with respect to a sibling have been terminated involuntarily.
• The parent has been declared by a court to be developmentally disabled or mentally ill.

Parental rights may be involuntarily terminated upon the filing of a petition by any person who seeks to adopt an unmarried child. Grounds to terminate parental rights shall include any of the following:

• The child has been abandoned by one or both parents.
• The child has been neglected or cruelly treated by one or both parents.
• A parent suffers from habitual use of alcohol or other controlled substances that render him or her incapable of caring for his or her child.
• A parent has been convicted of a felony, and the facts of the crime prove the unfitness of the parent to maintain custody and control of the child.
• A parent has been declared by a court to be developmentally disabled or mentally ill, such that he or she is unable to care for the child in a proper manner.
• A parent has been declared by a court to be mentally disabled, meaning that the parent suffers a mental incapacity or disorder such that the parent is unable to care for the child in a proper manner.

Timeframes for Termination Proceedings
Citation: Tribal Ord. No. 21, Ch. 2, § 13

The Tribal Court may terminate parental rights when the child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the Pala Band for 15 of the most recent 22 months.

If an infant has been found by the court to have been abandoned, a petition to terminate parental rights must be filed within 60 days. 

In a case in which the parent has been convicted of a felony listed in § 8(B.1.a), a petition to terminate parental rights must be filed within 30 days from the court's determination that active efforts to reunify the parents and child are not required.

Exceptions
Citation: Tribal Ord. No. 21, Ch. 2, § 13

Exceptions for the mandatory termination of parental rights include the following:

• The child is being cared for by a relative.
• The case documents a compelling reason why it would not be in the child's best interests to terminate parental rights. A compelling reason may include, but is not limited to, either of the following:
  • Adoption is not an appropriate permanency goal for the child.
  • There are insufficient grounds for termination of parental rights.

When Parental Rights May Be Reinstated

This issue is not addressed in the Tribal ordinances reviewed.