A SECOND CHANCE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: A MODEL STATUTE TO REINSTATE PARENTAL RIGHTS AFTER TERMINATION

• Date: 01 April 2010
• Published date: 01 April 2010
• Author: Randi J. O'Donnell
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-1617.2010.01315.x

STUDENT NOTES

A SECOND CHANCE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES:

A MODEL STATUTE TO REINSTATE PARENTAL

RIGHTS AFTER TERMINATION

Randi J. O’Donnell*

There are more than half a million children in foster care in the United States. Some of these children are adopted

into loving families, but many are considered hard to adopt and neverfind a per manent family. Research suggests

that the outlook for the teens who exit or age out of foster care without a permanent home or a meaningful adult

relationship is bleak. They are more likely to face homelessness, joblessness, drug addiction, early pregnancy,

mental health problems, and prison time.With such grim statistics, states should explore every possible permanent

family resource for youth in foster care.This Note proposes that, in limited circumstances, it is in the best interest

of the child to vacatea final order of ter mination and reinstate parental rights. It calls for states to adopt a model state

statute based on the five state statutes currently in place that already allow for the reinstatement of parental rights.

Keywords: reinstatement of parentalrights;foster care;termination of parental rights;aging-out;permanency

planning

“I’ve always run, because I love my family...Iwould go to the end of the Earth just to sleep

on the sidewalk beside my family.”—Timothy, age 151

“The way families are drawn together against all odds...isexemplified by just how many

kids...we see aging out of the foster care system and where do they go?They go

home...even kids whose parents’ rights have been terminated...Thebonds that hold

families together are powerful, and often the system worksto strain or shatter or destroy them

rather than build on them.”—Foster Care organization representative2

fcre_1315362..379

I. INTRODUCTION

David is an eleven-year-old boy in foster care. The parental rights of his mother, Lisa,

were terminated because she was homeless and addicted to drugs. Four years later, his

mother has completed a drug rehabilitation program, secured permanent housing, obtained

a job, and is doing well. David is now fifteen years old. Because of his tumultuous

childhood and the separation from his mother, David has difficulty listening to authority

and frequently gets into fights at school and in his foster care placements. Because of his

behavior he has not been with a family long enough to form an attachment leading to

adoption. Rather, he has been moved in and out of four foster homes and is currently

residing in a group home where he is expected to remain until he ages out of foster care.3

David and his mother have maintained contact over the years through frequent telephone

Correspondence: riodonne@gmail.com

FAMILY COURT REVIEW,Vol. 48 No. 2, April 362–379

© 2010 Association of Familyand Conciliation Cour ts

calls and visits. They haverebuilt their relationship and they want to reunite and reestablish

their parent/child ties. Unfortunately, the law does not allow for their wishes to be realized

in all but a handful of states.4

Currently there are more than half a million children in foster care in the United States.5

Many of these children maintain connections with their biological parents while they are in

foster care and even after their parents’ rights have been terminated.6Some of these

children are adopted into loving families, but many are considered hard to adopt and never

find a permanent family.7Teenagers, children with special physical and emotional needs,

and children who are part of a large sibling group are often considered very hard to adopt.8

As of December 31, 2007, there were 130,000 children in foster care waiting to be

adopted.9Rather than being raised in a healthy home, they become legal orphans, separated

from their siblings, languishing in foster care, moving in and out of different foster homes

and residential facilities until they reach the age of eighteen or twenty-one, depending on

the state in which they reside.10 Indeed, approximately 25,000 youth age out of foster care

each year with no connection to a parental figure.11 Children in foster care are a particularly

vulnerable population. When compared to at risk children raised in a single-parent low-

income household, foster children are still more likelyto suffer from developmental delays,

emotional and psychological problems, with 30–40% suffering from a chronic medial

problem.12 Since nearly all children in foster care have been abused or neglected to some

degree, it seems logical that they would suffer from more problems than children who are

not in foster care. However, the problems that originate before these children enter foster

care are often exacerbated by prolonged placement and a life in motion in the foster care

system.13

In spite of the abuse or neglect they have already suffered, many foster children feel a

tremendous sense of loss and abandonment at being separated from their biological fami-

lies as well as the familiar surroundings of their schools and communities.14 Many view the

separation as a form of punishment and blame themselves for it.15 As a result of such

separation, foster youth may become withdrawn from their relationships and reluctant to

engage in social activities that are a critical part of childhood and the maturation process.16

In addition to the emotional turmoil they have experienced, children in foster care suffer

from higher instances of illnesses, fragmented health care, and delays in cognitive and

academic functioning as a result of moving around so often.17 A recent nationwide study

concluded that, “15–20% of foster families have problems in their home environment,

family functioning, and parenting.”18There have also been numerous studies demonstrating

that children in foster care frequently suffer physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their

foster families.19 Clearly this does not bode well for an already fragile population of

children.

Unfortunately, research suggests that the outlook for the teens who exit or “age out” of

foster care without a permanent home or a meaningful adult relationship is bleak.20

Moreover, “poorer-outcomes—both in terms of psychological well-being and subsequent

involvement with the juvenile and criminal justice systems—have been associated with the

absence of quality adult relationships in young people’s lives.”21 These teens are more

likely to face homelessness, joblessness, drug addiction, early pregnancy, mental health

problems, and prison time.22 Yet nationally, nearly 25,000 young people age out of foster

care every year without the support of a family or caring adult legally committed to helping

them address these challenges and make a successful transition to adulthood.23

With such grim statistics, states should explore every possible permanent family

resource for youth in foster care. This is particularly so in light of the passage of the

O’Donnell/A SECOND CHANCE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES363