§9.32 Mental Condition

• Library: Juvenile Law Deskbook (2021 Supp.)

1. (§9.32) Mental Condition

When determining whether the parents’ mental health condition prevents them from parenting under § 211.447.5(2)(a), RSMo Supp. 2019, counsel must now also be cognizant of § 211.447.10, which states that “[t]he disability or disease of a parent shall not constitute a basis for a determination that a child is a child in need of care, for the removal of custody of a child from the parent, or for the termination of parental rights without a specific showing that there is a causal relation between the disability or disease and harm to the child.” In light of this section, courts have held the following:

[W]hen termination is based on a parent's mental illness, courts must take great care to identify a causal connection between the disability and harm to a child before terminating parental

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