§59.01 Overview|Introduction

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§ 59.01 OVERVIEW/INTRODUCTION

This chapter addresses termination of parental rights pursuant to Chapter 13.34 RCW. Termination of parental rights by the filing of a petition per RCW 13.34.180 is available only after the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Division of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) files a dependency petition pursuant to RCW 13.34.040 alleging child abuse, neglect, abandonment, or general inability to adequately perform parenting functions.

The legislative intent behind Chapter 13.34 RCW "declares that the family unit is a fundamental resource of American life which should be nurtured [and] that the family unit should remain intact unless a child's right to conditions of basic nurture, health, or safety is jeopardized." RCW 13.23.020. When the child's rights of basic nurture, physical and mental health, and safety are in conflict with the legal rights of the parents, the rights and safety of the child should prevail. (The child's welfare is the court's primary consideration. When the rights of the parent and welfare of the child are in...