Retired Virginia judge Stephen Rideout explains the legal process for termination of parental rights (TPR) proceedings:
There’s a federal law about how states should handle child welfare cases, called ASFA, which requires that child welfare agencies file for termination if the child has been in foster care for 15 of the past 22 months, unless the agency can provide the court with a valid reason not to do that.
However, each state has its own law … Read More
art by Carmen Caban
Fifteen years ago, when my youngest daughter, Destiny, was 3 and her sister Desiree was 7, my parental rights to them were terminated.
I just could not understand why. I had been addicted to drugs for many years but completed drug treatment, parenting classes and anger management classes. I also had two older children in foster care, and my rights to these children were not terminated. In fact, a year later, … Read More
On December 8, 2000, my 15-year-old son was discharged into my custody after spending a long time in a residential treatment center. I thought everything would be good. I had wanted him to come home for so long. But his anger soon overwhelmed me.
My children were taken from me when my son was 5, because of my drug addiction. In foster care, Luis’ anger just grew and grew. He was angry at the system because … Read More
