Termination of Parental Rights

Before children are legally free to be adopted, their birth parents' rights must be terminated. This can be done voluntarily or involuntarily. Courts and judges make decisions about terminating parental rights based on State laws. Resources include State and local examples.

3 Legal Options to Consider When Facing Termination of Parental Rights
RISE Magazine (2017)
Provides information for parents on their legal options when faced with termination of parental rights. The article discusses a suspended judgment that a judge can grant when they think it is in the best interests of a child, a conditional surrender, and a parent's option to go to trial and fight.

The Best-Interest Model of Termination of Parental Rights
Sarathy & Soliman (2016)
Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 44(4)
Describes cases involving the termination of parental rights in which the court must balance the preservation of the family with the rights and best interests of the child.

Court Hearings for the Permanent Placement of Children

Series Title	State Statutes
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 777KB)
Year Published	2020

Summarizes State laws that mandate the type and frequency of court hearings that must be held to review the status of children placed in out-of-home care. At these hearings, the court reviews the efforts that have been made to address the family issues that necessitated the out-of-home placement as well as efforts to achieve permanency for the child. This document also lists the persons who may attend the hearings and describes permanency options.

Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children

Series Title	State Statutes
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 583KB)
Year Published	2020

This factsheet discusses laws that require child welfare agencies to make reasonable efforts to provide services that will help families remedy the conditions that brought the child and family into the child welfare system. The issues examined include what constitutes reasonable efforts, when reasonable efforts are required to be made, and the circumstances under which reasonable efforts to reunify the family are not required. Summaries of laws for all States and U.S. territories are included.

Termination of Parental Rights for Parents With Substance Use Disorder: For Whom and Then What? (PDF - 420 KB)
Hong, Ryan, Hernandez, & Brown (2014)
Social Work in Public Health, 29(6)
Examines cases in which parental rights of parents with substance use disorders were terminated and with the effect on permanency after the termination decision is made. At follow up, 85 percent of the children were adopted, 7 percent remained in out-of-home care, and 7 percent were reunified with their parents.

(Back to Top)

State and local examples

Terminating Parental Rights – Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
TexasLawHelp.org (2017)
Provides answers to frequently asked questions about the termination of parental rights in Texas, such as, "What is the termination of parental rights?"; "How can I begin the termination process?"; "Can I hire a lawyer to help?"; and "What is considered in the best interest of the child?"

Termination of Parental Rights
Alaska Youth Law Guide (2018)
Explains termination of parental rights in Alaska, why parental rights might be terminated, and how they are terminated and provides related information for teens and young adults.

Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) (PDF - 1,002 KB)
Minnesota Legal Services Coalition, Education for Justice (2018)
Presents a fact sheet on termination of parental rights in Minnesota that reviews voluntary versus involuntary termination, how rights are terminated, and legal reasons for terminating parental rights.

What Are the Grounds for Terminating Parental Rights?
The Mississippi Bar (2018)
Reviews the termination of parental rights in Mississippi, including how rights are terminated, considerations of the child's interests, and how courts make the decision to terminate parental rights.

(Back to Top)