PARK Act

Permanency for At-Risk Kids Act

All legislation in the PARK Act is designed to ensure permanency for children who are at risk of being unnecessarily left in the foster care system and apart from their forever families.

This act will

  1. Prevent the termination of a minor parent’s parental rights from being used as grounds against them as adults.
  2. Provide a clear definition to “maintaining a significant parental relationship” in the adoption code.
  3. Give mandatory standing in juvenile court to non-relative caregivers after they have kept the child in their home for 12 months.
  4. Remove harmful delays from termination of parental rights (TPR) timelines.
  5. Set time limits for when inattentive relatives can petition for a foster child, if the foster parents plan on adopting the child.
  6. Add bonding to non-biological parents as grounds for TPR, if at least one other grounds for TPR is found.
 

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I. Prevent the termination of a minor parent’s parental rights from being used as grounds against them as adults

If TPR occurs against a minor parent, that TPR should not be used against them in cases involving future children. Minor parents may be able to successfully parent future children. Other areas of law allow juvenile records to be sealed. In addition to protecting the minor parent, this helps ensure permanency for the at risk child of the minor parent, by changing a law that motivated the minor parents to fight TPR even when the parent might not have otherwise.

Additions in bold. Deletions in strikethrough.

AL Code § 12-15-319 Grounds for termination of parental rights; factors considered; presumption arising from abandonment.

(a) If the juvenile court finds from clear and convincing evidence, competent, material, and relevant in nature, that the parents of a child are unable or unwilling to discharge their responsibilities to and for the child, or that the conduct or condition of the parents renders them unable to properly care for the child and that the conduct or condition is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, it may terminate the parental rights of the parents. In determining whether or not the parents are unable or unwilling to discharge their responsibilities to and for the child and to terminate the parental rights, the juvenile court shall consider the following factors including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) …

(8) That parental rights to a sibling of the child have been involuntarily terminated , unless those rights were terminated before the parent reached the age of majority.

 

II. Provide clear definition to “maintaining a significant parental relationship” in the adoption code.

The Alabama Adoption Code provides for implied consent, but the courts have had an inconsistent interpretation of § 26-10A-9(4) with regards to “maintaining a significant parental relationship”. These changes add clarity and allow adoptive parents to achieve permanency for their children when the biological parents fail to maintain a relationship with the child. Note that (4)(a) and (b) below use the same wording as grounds for TPR, § 12-15-319 (a) (10) and (11).

Additions in bold. Deletions in strikethrough.

AL Code § 26-10A-9 Implied consent or relinquishment.

(a) A consent or relinquishment required by Section 26-10A-7 may be implied by any of the following acts of a parent:

(1) Abandonment of the adoptee. Abandonment includes, but is not limited to, the failure of the father, with reasonable knowledge of the pregnancy, to offer financial and/or emotional support for a period of six months prior to the birth.

(2) Leaving the adoptee without provision for his or her identification for a period of 30 days.

(3) Knowingly leaving the adoptee with others without provision for support and without communication for a period of six months.

(4) Not otherwise maintaining a significant parental relationship with the adoptee for a period of six months. Involuntary separation from the adoptee, including incarceration or the parent or adoptee being placed in foster care, does not prevent the parent from maintaining a significant relationship. Not maintaining a significant parental relationship includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) Failure by the parents to maintain regular visits with the child in accordance with a plan devised by the Department of Human Resources, or any public or licensed private child care agency, and agreed to by the parent.

(b) Failure by the parents to maintain consistent contact or communication with the child.

(4) (5) Receiving notification of the pendency of the adoption proceedings under Section 26-10A-17 and failing to answer or otherwise respond to the petition within 30 days.

(5) (6) Failing to comply with Section 26-10C-1.

(b) Implied consent under subsection (a) may not be withdrawn by any person. 

III. Give mandatory standing in juvenile court to caregivers after having the child in their home for 12 months.

The people who have actually had a child in their care are best equipped to understand and seek the best interests of the child. Making them a party to the case adds further protection of the child.

Additions in bold. Deletions in strikethrough.

AL Code §12-15-113 Jurisdiction to make a parent or parents, legal guardians, or legal custodians parties to juvenile court proceedings.

A juvenile court shall have the authority to make a parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian a party to a juvenile court proceeding pursuant to procedures established by the Alabama Rules of Juvenile Procedure.

A juvenile court shall have the authority to make a foster parent, preadoptive parent, or relative caregiver a party to a juvenile court proceeding pursuant to procedures established by the Alabama Rules of Juvenile Procedure.

Upon motion, foster parents, preadoptive parents and relative caregivers shall be made a party to the juvenile case being held with respect to a child that has been in their care for 12 of the last 24 months.

AL Code §12-15-307 Notice and right to be heard to be given to relatives, preadoptive parents, or foster parents. (for reference, no changes)

Relative caregivers, preadoptive parents, and foster parents of a child in foster care under the responsibility of the state shall be given notice, verbally or in writing, of the date, time, and place of any juvenile court proceeding being held with respect to a child in their care.

Foster parents, preadoptive parents, and relative caregivers of a child in foster care under the responsibility of the state have a right to be heard in any juvenile court proceeding being held with respect to a child in their care.

No foster parent, preadoptive parent, and relative caregiver of a child in foster care under the responsibility of the state shall be made a party to a juvenile court proceeding solely on the basis of this notice and right to be heard pursuant to this section. 

IV. Remove harmful delays from TPR timelines

The current TPR timeline has an opportunity for a significant delay. The PARK act ensures permanency for children in a timely manner by closing this gap. The current timeline is:
  • 12 months – DHR must file TPR for children in foster care for 12 of 22 months. §12-15-317 (1)
  • 45 days – To complete service of process. §12-15-318 (b)
  • 90 days or more – If service of process has not been completed, the petitioner (usually DHR) requests service by publication. This step is very commonly required. The judge has no timeline to answer the motion for publication, except the general rule that motions are denied if not answered in 90 days.
  • 4 weeks – For publication. §12-15-318 (d)
  • 90 days – To complete the TPR trial. §12-15-320 (a)
  • 30 days – To enter a final order. §12-15-320 (a)

Additions in bold. Deletions in strikethrough.

AL Code §12-15-318 Service of process.

(a) Except as otherwise provided by the Alabama Rules of Juvenile Procedure and this section, service of process of termination of parental rights actions shall be made in accordance with the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure.

(b) If service of process has not been completed within 45 days of the filing of the termination of parental rights petition, the petitioner shall request service by publication.

(c) Service of process by publication may not be ordered by the juvenile court unless at least one of the following conditions is met:

(1) The child who is the subject of the proceedings was abandoned in the state, or

(2) The state or private department or agency having custody of the child has established, by evidence presented to the juvenile court, that the absent parent or parents are avoiding service of process or their whereabouts are unknown and cannot be ascertained with reasonable diligence.

(d) Service shall be made by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county of the juvenile court having jurisdiction and in the county of the last known address of the parent or parents of the abandoned child, at least once a week for four consecutive weeks.

(e) The juvenile court shall issue an order on the petitioner’s motion for publication within 14 days. 

V. Set time limits for when inattentive relatives can petition for a foster child, if the foster parents plan on adopting the child

Sadly, it is all too common in foster care that a child’s relatives will not come forward until the last moment when TPR is imminent, after the child has established and adjusted to life in a new family. This law will encourage the best interests of the child by requiring relatives to come forward to care for the child soon after they are placed in foster care.

Additions in bold. Deletions in strikethrough.

AL Code § 12-15-319 Grounds for termination of parental rights; factors considered; presumption arising from abandonment.

(a) If the juvenile court finds from clear and convincing evidence, competent, material, and relevant in nature, that the parents of a child are unable or unwilling to discharge their responsibilities to and for the child, or that the conduct or condition of the parents renders them unable to properly care for the child and that the conduct or condition is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, it may terminate the parental rights of the parents. In determining whether or not the parents are unable or unwilling to discharge their responsibilities to and for the child and to terminate the parental rights, the juvenile court shall consider the following factors including, but not limited to, the following:

(b) A rebuttable presumption that the parents are unable or unwilling to act as parents exists in any case where the parents have abandoned a child and this abandonment continues for a period of four months next preceding the filing of the petition. Nothing in this subsection is intended to prevent the filing of a petition in an abandonment case prior to the end of the four-month period.

(c) The juvenile court is not required to consider a relative a viable alternative to termination of parental rights if all of the following are found:

(1) The relative did not attempt to care for or gain custody of the child within 3 months of the child being removed from his [or her] parents .

(2) The current plan by the Department of Human Resources or the licensed child placement agency is adoption by the current foster parents. 

VI. Add bonding to non-biological parents as grounds for TPR

If at least one other grounds for TPR is found, the court may consider bonding to current caregivers as additional grounds for TPR, if the child has been in the caregiver’s home for 12 or more months and evidence of the child’s bonding to the caregivers is presented. This protects children whose biological parents are unfit to care for them and have already formed another family relationship.

Additions in bold. Deletions in strikethrough.

AL Code §12-15-319 Grounds for termination of parental rights; factors considered; presumption arising from abandonment.

(a) If the juvenile court finds from clear and convincing evidence, competent, material, and relevant in nature, that the parents of a child are unable or unwilling to discharge their responsibilities to and for the child, or that the conduct or condition of the parents renders them unable to properly care for the child and that the conduct or condition is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, it may terminate the parental rights of the parents. In determining whether or not the parents are unable or unwilling to discharge their responsibilities to and for the child and to terminate the parental rights, the juvenile court shall consider the following factors including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) That the parents have abandoned the child, provided that in these cases, proof shall not be required of reasonable efforts to prevent removal or reunite the child with the parents.

(2) Emotional illness, mental illness, or mental deficiency of the parent, or excessive use of alcohol or controlled substances, of a duration or nature as to render the parent unable to care for needs of the child.

(3) That the parent has tortured, abused, cruelly beaten, or otherwise maltreated the child, or attempted to torture, abuse, cruelly beat, or otherwise maltreat the child, or the child is in clear and present danger of being thus tortured, abused, cruelly beaten, or otherwise maltreated as evidenced by the treatment of a sibling.

(4) Conviction of and imprisonment for a felony.

(5) Commission by the parents of any of the following:

a. Murder or manslaughter of another child of that parent.

b. Aiding, abetting, attempting, conspiring, or soliciting to commit murder or manslaughter of another child of that parent.

c. A felony assault or abuse which results in serious bodily injury to the surviving child or another child of that parent. The term serious bodily injury shall mean bodily injury which involves substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.

(6) Unexplained serious physical injury to the child under those circumstances as would indicate that the injuries resulted from the intentional conduct or willful neglect of the parent.

(7) That reasonable efforts by the Department of Human Resources or licensed public or private child care agencies leading toward the rehabilitation of the parents have failed.

(8) That parental rights to a sibling of the child have been involuntarily terminated.

(9) Failure by the parents to provide for the material needs of the child or to pay a reasonable portion of support of the child, where the parent is able to do so.

(10) Failure by the parents to maintain regular visits with the child in accordance with a plan devised by the Department of Human Resources, or any public or licensed private child care agency, and agreed to by the parent.

(11) Failure by the parents to maintain consistent contact or communication with the child.

(12) Lack of effort by the parent to adjust his or her circumstances to meet the needs of the child in accordance with agreements reached, including agreements reached with local departments of human resources or licensed child-placing agencies, in an administrative review or a judicial review.

(13) The court may consider bonding to preadoptive parents, foster parents or relative caregivers as additional grounds for termination of parental rights if all of the following are found:

a. At least one other grounds for termination of parental rights is found.

b. The child has lived with the preadoptive parents, foster parents or relative caregivers for 12 of the most recent 24 months.

c. The preadoptive parents, foster parents or relative caregivers intend to provide a permanent home for the child through adoption or permanent legal custody.

d. The juvenile court finds clear and convincing evidence of the child’s bonding to the preadoptive parents, foster parents or relative caregivers. Bonding may be evidenced by, but is not limited to, the following findings:

(i) The child identifies himself [or herself] as a member of the preadoptive parent’s, foster parent’s or relative caregiver’s family.

(ii) The child has a significant attachment to the preadoptive parents, foster parents or relative caregivers and that terminating or interrupting the relationship will cause harm to the child.

(iii) The child is perceived to be a member of the preadoptive parent’s, foster parent’s or relative caregiver’s family by members of the community that the child lives in.

(b) A rebuttable presumption that the parents are unable or unwilling to act as parents exists in any case where the parents have abandoned a child and this abandonment continues for a period of four months next preceding the filing of the petition. Nothing in this subsection is intended to prevent the filing of a petition in an abandonment case prior to the end of the four-month period.