Is anyone following this?

[wesleycrusher]

www.foxnews.com/us/2017/02/07/parents-in-fight-with-adopted-child-s-ex-con-dad-to-keep-custody-3-year-old-girl.html

From the family's page:  We are concerned about our daughter, but also for the adoption community in general. Adoption is supposed to be permanent. It is not supposed to be a temporary opportunity for people to get out of jail and then appeal and use family members as a place holder.

(I know it's fox news but ignore that)

The court has always been very clear to us that incarceration is not a reason to terminate, so our SW is always asking about contact.  There are things that bio parents could be doing (like phone calls, letters, etc) that they don't do and that is one of the big arguments the county has against the parents. Although it sounds like in this situation the bio father didn't do those things either.

[ceejay]

This is a sad situation. I agree that incarceration alone shouldn't be a reason for TPR, but in this situation it sounds like the bio dad made basically zero effort to stay in touch with his daughter while he was in prison. If he was so interested in having custody of his daughter, he could have sent letters and gifts, called, asked for visits, etc. I hope the judge realizes this and doesn't consider reversing the adoption.

Tip: Do not read the comments on that article. I wasted about 15 minutes skimming them and just got really upset about all of the ignorant and horrible comments about foster care.

[butlerfan]

OMG!!!!!! I thought adoption is permanent.....

Also, while being in jail does not mean TPR, lack of contact/interest should.

[pinkie]

I don't know the details here but we had TPR ruled on both bio dads for both adoptions prior to finalization. This was DIA.

For our older son the bio dad was unknown so we had a lawyer take all the steps and the court ruled that rights were terminated. For our younger son the bio dad signed TPR papers.

Was TPR done for the bio dad in this case?

[wesleycrusher]

pinkie yes a South Carolina judge terminated his rights saying he made no effort to visit or support her.

In our state bio parents have 30 days to appeal TPR, this appeal was a year later. Bio dad is claiming rights were terminated illegally.

[akafred]

Oh my God, what a nightmare! I would like to hear more of the bio dad's side of the story as this is very AP-centric, but I agree with the judge that if he didn't reach out more than a single card and didn't offer any support, visitation, etc, then he should have lost his rights. I'm curious about that transportation to TPR thing. I know that is common within the state but am not familiar with how that is handled interstate. Seems like a due process concern, but IDK what is typical.

[wesleycrusher]

DD

[akafred]

Yeah, I was more talking about the case in the article but it is good to know that they are super cognizant of the parents' ability to attend (at least by phone) in your case.

[Deleted]

This whole thing is strange to me. For our oldest, his dad is currently incarcerated but he still had a termination hearing before his rights were terminated. He had notice and he and his PD could have put on a full case and appealed it all the way to our state supreme court. And all of this HAS to happen before we can adopt him. Ultimately, he chose to sign something that said he would not contest the termination. But he knew what that meant. He's had his due process and now we don't have to worry about it. Same with our youngest boys. I just don't understand how the family could have adopted this girl without all that happening. I am totally blaming the state on this for not like, doing their job. I also agree philosophically that a bio parent who shows no interest in prison for...what, years? should be enough of a case to move to terminate rights. There are lots of ways to maintain a relationship. For a while, our oldest had to use a prison specific Skype program to talk to his dad. And he actually had to go out there once a week early on.

[akafred]

Feb 10, 2017 11:13:21 GMT -5 @helgahufflepuff said:

This whole thing is strange to me. For our oldest, his dad is currently incarcerated but he still had a termination hearing before his rights were terminated. He had notice and he and his PD could have put on a full case and appealed it all the way to our state supreme court. And all of this HAS to happen before we can adopt him. Ultimately, he chose to sign something that said he would not contest the termination. But he knew what that meant. He's had his due process and now we don't have to worry about it. Same with our youngest boys. I just don't understand how the family could have adopted this girl without all that happening. I am totally blaming the state on this for not like, doing their job. I also agree philosophically that a bio parent who shows no interest in prison for...what, years? should be enough of a case to move to terminate rights. There are lots of ways to maintain a relationship. For a while, our oldest had to use a prison specific Skype program to talk to his dad. And he actually had to go out there once a week early on.

I believe from the article that it did happen. But the judge found that it was still a violation of the dad's due process rights and TPR was vacated and also the adoption decree. Scary stuff.

[pinkie]

It is very scary if you can set aside a TPR. I didn't realize that was ever possible!!

[Deleted]

That really doesn't seem right at all. Like all your chances at due process should be exhausted BEFORE TPR. Like his chance to argue that he should KEEP his rights should all be before adoption occurs. I really do think this judge is flat out wrong too. And in our state you have two weeks to appeal the district court decision. It's deemed waived if you try after that. And honestly, in our state the only people who DO appeal are parents who are in prison because they have nothing but time and a PD. This is just really scary stuff. Knowing the parents of my kids, this scenario would be so unlikely for me but this is truly a horrible precedent. And it really just creates so much uncertainty for everyone. Bio parents absolutely need a clear, navigable process and to have sufficient time to try to complete their case plans. But prospective adoptive parents need certainty too!!

[akafred]

Not to mention the kids need certainty. This whole thing is supposed to be about permanency for the kids.