In some cases, a court will order an involuntary termination of parental rights. The grounds this type of involuntary termination must include specific circumstances in which a child cannot safely go home because of an imminent risk of harm. While each state has its own specific grounds for these types of circumstances, some of the most common examples of determining a parent is unfit to maintain parental rights include:
- Severe or chronic abuse or neglect
- Any form of sexual abuse
- Long-term incapacity caused by alcohol or drug abuse
- Abandonment
- Abuse or neglect of other children in the household
- Failure to maintain contact with the child
- Failure to support the child
- Long-term mental deficiency or illness
- Involuntary termination of parental rights to another child
The court must be convinced that the parent cannot provide a safe home for the child after reasonable efforts have been taken by the state to offer services that prevent an out-of-home placement or to come to some sort of arrangement that does not involve the termination of parental rights.
In Minnesota, a person’s parental rights can also be terminated if he or she is convicted of committing sexual abuse or another sexual offense involving children not related to them, including prostitution or child pornography.
To learn more about the termination of parental rights, speak with a knowledgeable Minnesota family law attorney at Appelhof, Pfeifer & Hart, P.A.
