I found this on Illinois Pro Bono's website http://www.illinoisprobono.org/index...tentID=59 47: (Sounds promising more so than what you have indicated in other states)
Federal legislation changed child welfare/foster care so that there is less of a chance the child will return home. If a child is in foster care for 15 out of 22 months, there will be a motion toward Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) if the case is not close to being fully ready for reunification.
Termination of Parental Rights (TPR)
If nine months after adjudication, the parent has not made "reasonable efforts" and "reasonable progress" on the foster care service plan, the parent can be found unfit. The service plan is updated every six months at an Administrative Case Review. The state must prove parental unfitness under at least one ground by clear and convincing evidence.
Failure to Make Reasonable Efforts and/or Progress
This is Ground (m) in statute 750 ILCS 50/1 (D(m)), and is the most commonly used ground to prove parental unfitness. It defines this Ground as 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, or
To make reasonable progress toward the return of the child to the parent within 9 months after an adjudication of neglected or abused minor, or
To make reasonable progress toward the return of the child to the parent during any 9-month period after the end of the initial 9-month period
Reasonable efforts would include things like: did the parent complete the tasks in the service plan, including visiting the child?
Reasonable progress would include things like: does the parent understand her role in making the child a foster kid and has the parent done everything needed (like completing tasks in the service plan) to ensure what led to the state taking the child will not happen again? For example, if the child was born drug-exposed, has the parent completed treatment and been drug-free for a significant period of time?
Adjudication is the trial that covers everything that happened up until the day of the temporary custody (TC) hearing. At the TC hearing, the court decides if the child should stay outside of the parent?s care until Adjudication. The TC hearing must occur no more than 48 hours after DCFS took the child from the home and placed him/her in foster care. The Adjudication must occur within 90 days of the date of service to the parties (both parents), unless all parties agree to have the trial after 90 days and the court allows the trial to be delayed (called a ?90-day waiver?). Once Adjudication has occurred, the clock starts ticking for the 9-month period for reasonable efforts and progress (Ground (m)).
Other Unfitness Grounds
These are other unfitness grounds found in 750 ILCS 50/1 (D) to be aware of:
Ground (i) is depravity, including a rebuttable presumption that the parent is depraved if he/she has been convicted of 3 felonies and at least one conviction was in the last 5 years. It also includes 1st or 2nd degree murder of the child?s other parent (which can be overcome if there is clear & convincing evidence otherwise, such as self-defense) and the murder of any child, including conspiracy and solicitation for murder;
Ground (k) is habitual drunkenness or drug addiction for at least one year before the TPR petition is filed;
Ground (n) is failure to plan for the child?s future for any 12-month period, visit or communicate with the child or agency. The court will consider whether the parent sent cards, gifts and letters to the child (or caseworker if she doesn?t have the child?s address) and whether there were visits in person or over the phone;
Ground (q) is a criminal conviction of aggravated battery, heinous battery or attempted murder of any child;
Ground (r) is the child is in foster care, the parent is convicted of a crime and incarcerated, and before incarceration had little or no contact with the child or provided little or no support to the child. Also, the parent will not be able to ?discharge parental responsibilities? for the next two years;
Ground (s) is the child is in foster care, the parent is incarcerated, and has been repeatedly incarcerated because of criminal convictions and the repeated incarceration prevents the parent from ?discharging parental responsibilities.? Convictions from before the child was born can be included if they affect the ability to be a good parent, as in In re D.D., a Minor;
Ground (t) is the child is born exposed to drugs, the mother has at least one other child who the court found was neglected and the mother had the opportunity to participate in drug counseling, treatment and rehabilitation programs after trial.
TPR Trial
The TPR trial is done in two parts:
In the first part, the state asks the Judge to make a finding of ?unfitness? based on one or more grounds. If the Judge does make a finding of unfitness, then the trial proceeds to Part 2. If the Judge does not make a finding of unfitness, the state?s petition for TPR is dismissed and everything stays the same. The children do not return home automatically but rights are not terminated;
In the second part, the Judge decides whether it is in the child?s ?best interest? for rights to be terminated. If the Judge decides that it is in the best interest of the child to terminate parental rights, then she will do so. If the Judge decides that it is not in the child?s best interest to terminate parental rights (even though she already made a finding of unfitness), parental rights are not terminated.
TPR is final. Once parental rights are terminated, the case can be appealed if notice of appeal is filed within 30 days. Once that time period ends there is no way to undo the termination.
Parent's Procedural Rights
The parent has 3 procedural rights:
The parent has a right to notice. Notice must be sent to the parent's last known address and if he or she is no longer there, the state must publish notice. Make sure the parent knows the trial will continue even if he or she does not show up for court;
The parent has a right to be present in court (assuming he or she can be located) unless he or she is incarcerated in another state or in a federal facility. Usually the court will issue a writ for the parent to be brought to court if he or she is incarcerated. It is sometimes possible to participate by phone;
The parent has a right to a lawyer. If he or she cannot afford a lawyer the court must appoint one (in the Child Protection Division where foster care cases are heard). This is not true in other child custody cases. In Cook County, the Public Defender represents most parents in these cases.
These rights are not absolute, particularly if the parent has not maintained contact with the agency or the court.
"Best Interest of the Child" Standard
All of the decisions made by the court are supposed to be in the ?best interest? of the child. When the court decides what is in the best interest of the child, it looks at the following factors in the context of the child?s age and developmental needs:
The physical safety and welfare of the child, including food, shelter, health and clothing
The development of the child?s identity
The child?s background and ties, including familial, cultural and religious
The child?s sense of attachments, including:
- Where the child actually feels love, attachment and a sense of being valued (as opposed to where adults believe the child should feel such love, attachment and a sense of being valued)
- The child?s sense of security
- The child?s sense of familiarity
- The continuity of affection for the child
- The least disruptive placement alternative for the child
The child?s wishes and long-term goals
The child?s community ties, including church, school and friends
The child?s need for permanence which includes the child?s need for stability and continuity of relationships with parental figures and with siblings and other relatives
The uniqueness of every family and child
The risks attendant to entering and being in substitute care
The preferences of the persons available to care for the child
"Best Interest of the Child" Standard in TPR Trials
When a Judge is deciding whether it is in the child?s best interests to terminate parental rights after an unfitness finding, the judge looks at all of the best interest factors. It is very unusual for a court to find technical unfitness, yet find that it is not in the child?s best interest to terminate parental rights. During the best interest portion of TPR, the Judge is specifically looking at the following issues:
How long has the child lived outside of the parent?s care?
How often did the parent have contact with the child while the child was in foster care, through visits, letters, phone calls, etc.?
Is the child bonded to the parent? Does the child seek out the parent for affection, reassurance and love?
Would it be detrimental to the child to sever the legal bond between parent and child?
How long has the child lived in his/her current home?
Is the child bonded to her current caretakers? What names does she have for the caretakers (?mom,? ?dad,? ?grandma,? etc.)? Does the child seek out the caretakers for affection, reassurance and love?
Depending on the age of the child, what does she want? (If the child is older, the court will consider whether the child wants to return to the parent or be adopted.)
What do the current caretakers want? Are they willing to adopt the child?
These are just some of the broad considerations the court thinks about when it decides whether to terminate parental rights. Where the child feels safe and loved is a huge part of the court?s consideration.
Source: http://forums.adoption.com/becoming-foster-parents/401017-illinois-tpr.html
wisconsin recall jim caldwell internet blackout portland weather jessica capshaw seattle times seattle times
PeteThamelNYT