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DCF urges statute to match practice: exclude child-support nonpayment from grounds for parental-rights termination in CHINS cases
Summary
Heather McLean of the Department for Children and Families told the House Judiciary Committee the agency supports 2024 changes that removed child-support nonpayment as a termination factor but seeks a statutory carve-out making that explicit for CHINS (Title 33) proceedings to avoid unintended consequences.
Heather McLean, revenue enhancement director for the Department for Children and Families (DCF), told the House Judiciary Committee on S.109 that DCF supports 2024 statutory changes that removed language in Title 15A permitting consideration of nonpayment of child support as a factor in termination of parental rights, but the agency is asking lawmakers to add a specific carve-out for CHINS proceedings initiated under Title 33.
Nut Graf: McLean said the change is intended to align statute with current DCF practice and federal guidance, and to avoid unintended consequences in adoption and…
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