Termination of Parental Rights in New York: Why Such a Variation By County?

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12513
• Date: 01 July 2020
• Author: Bari Z. Weinberger,Daniel Pollack
• Published date: 01 July 2020

ARTICLES

TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS IN NEW YORK: WHY SUCH A

VARIATION BY COUNTY?

Bari Z. Weinberger and Daniel Pollack

Termination of parental rights (“TPR”) ends the parent–child relationship though a process governed by state law. As a recent

analysis of federal data revealed, TPR rates vary widely by state. In West Virginia, the TPR rate was 283 per 100,000. In

New York State, the focus of this article, there were approximately 30 TPRs for every 100,000 children in 2014. Within

New York State, TPR rates vary by county. In this exploratory piece, we analyze TPR rates in New York by county, noting

discrepancies and seeking possible explanations for these variations, including possible effects of income disparities, single-

parent households, poor mental health, binge drinking, and drug addiction. This is an initial exploration only, and is not

intended to be a rigorous quantitative study. Rather, our scope arises from what we have noticed from front line practice. It is

our hope that researchers will use our exploratory findings for extended analysis, including analysis of TPR data from other

states.

Practitioner’sKey Points:

In New York State, there are approximately 30 TPRs for every 100,000 children.

TPR rates vary widely across New York’s counties.

Possible explanations for high incidence of TPR in certain counties include: income disparities, single-parent house-

holds, poor mental health, binge drinking, and drug addiction.

Our analysis is qualitative, based on our experiences in front line practice.

Keywords: Child Welfare; Termination of Parental Rights; TPR.

I. INTRODUCTION

The family is the basic building block of society

1

; absent thriving families, society suffers. Sadly,

there are times when a parent and child must be legally separated. TPR ends the parent–child rela-

tionship –not a matter to be taken lightly. While an abuse or neglect proceeding is frequently an

initial step in a process that may ultimately result in a TPR, that result is not a foregone conclusion.

Following a TPR, a parent has no right be notified of or consent to legal proceedings which affect

the disposition of the child, including issues regarding custody, guardianship, adoption, health, edu-

cation or assets.

In determining which parents are at greatest risk for termination of rights, one factor may be

simple geography, according to a recent Associated Press analysis of federal data that revealed

wide state-to-state disparities in TPR rates. Some states terminate rights at rates as much as 25

times higher than states at the lower end of the scale. Maryland, for example, had a rate of 10.5

parental right s terminations f or every 100,000 chil dren in 2014 while in neighboring West

Virginia the rate was 283 per 100,000. Another high termination state was Oklahoma at 252 per

100,000.

2

Corresponding: bariw@wlg.com

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 58 No. 3, July 2020 793–803

© 2020 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts