What are the grounds to terminate parental rights?
Termination of parental rights’ grounds are different in each state. See State Links for state statutes and grounds for terminating parental rights in each state. Common grounds across the states for filing a termination of parental rights petition include abandonment or extreme parental disinterest, abuse/neglect, mental illness or deficiency, alcohol- or drug-induced incapacity, felony conviction/incarceration, failure or reasonable efforts, sexual abuse, abuse/neglect or loss of rights of another child, failure to maintain contact, failure to provide support, and murder/manslaughter of sibling child. Common exceptions across the states to filing a termination of parental rights’ petition include the petition not being in the best interest of the child, a relative caring for the child as a permanent foster-care situation, and the agency not having provided the services necessary for safe return of the child to their parents.
