A termination of parental rights is a court order that severs the rights, powers, privileges, immunities, duties, and obligations between a parent and child.  A termination of parental rights may be voluntary or involuntary.

Termination of parental rights’ grounds are different in each state.  See State Links for state statutes and grounds for terminating parental rights in each state.

Common grounds across the states for filing a termination of parental rights petition include abandonment or extreme parental disinterest, abuse/neglect, mental illness or deficiency, alcohol- or drug-induced incapacity, felony conviction/incarceration, failure or reasonable efforts, sexual abuse, abuse/neglect or loss of rights of another child, failure to maintain contact, failure to provide support, and murder/manslaughter of sibling child.

Common exceptions across the states to filing a termination of parental rights’ petition include the petition not being in the best interest of the child, a relative caring for the child as a permanent foster-care situation, and the agency not having provided the services necessary for safe return of the child to their parents.

The termination of parental rights is one of the most profound decisions a court may make. That a petition to involuntarily terminate parental rights has been initiated means the petitioner, normally the child-welfare agency that earlier was given temporary custody of the child, has given up on any parental ability to accomplish reunification, and that termination, often followed by adoption or a guardianship, holds out the best prospect for a child. 

Sometimes, a parent decides to forgo a termination proceeding and, instead, voluntarily relinquishes all parental rights to the child, though, in open-adoption states, an arrangement may be approved for ongoing visitation with the child in the adoptive home. Or the agency may be asked to postpone the hearing on being shown by parents’ counsel there were deficiencies in the agency’s efforts to arrange assistance for the parents or because adoption is improbable. But these proceedings often do proceed, and a great majority of contested termination proceedings do result in a ruling that approves termination. 

An appeal early in the court process, such as whether there was sufficient evidence to sustain the original petition, is a less momentous court ruling. It is made in conjunction with a court-approved plan of what needs to be accomplished to return a child to the parents and what needs to be accomplished to protect and promote the child’s welfare. There is far less motivation to appeal. 

Termination is, normally, the formal end of the parent-child relationship. It is this that increases the appeal interest, though the waiting period until an appellate decision is ruled continues to leave a family situation in unresolved emotional tension. There is and must be a right to appeal, and public funding should be obtained to compensate an attorney for an indigent parent to initiate this proceeding.

The appeal process involves a notice of appeal, the transmission of the trial court record to the appellate court, an appellant brief, an appellee brief, and oral arguments on occasion.  Oral arguments are generally only heard when a significant legal question is at issue.

In Santosky v. Kramer, it was determined that the standard of clear and convincing evidence was to be used as the standard of proof in TPR rather than the usual standard of "fair preponderance of the evidence." 

If a child is subject to the Indian Child Welfare Act, the standard of proof in TPR proceedings is "beyond a reasonable doubt."

No, a guardianship takes away the parents' right to make decisions about their child; however, it does not permanently terminate parental rights. Although the guardian has custody and is responsible for raising the child, the parents are still the child's legal parents. 

The parents may be able to visit their child, but when and how often is up to the guardian (or the court) to decide.  Parents may regain custody of their child if the court determines the guardianship is no longer in the child's best interests.

Supporting evidence in TPR hearings is required to substantiate the claims and evidence that led a case to legally qualify for the TPR petition to be filed.  Qualified expert witnesses may submit testimony on the diagnosis and prognosis of any physical- or mental-health concerns of the parents and the child, as well as on the history of prior treatment.  Testimony may be provided by family members or other individuals involved in the case regarding the behavior of the parents toward the child.