Senate Judiciary Committee recommends due pass for bill allowing limited reinstatement of parental rights

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to recommend passage of House Bill 1034 after hearing testimony that the bill would create a narrow process for some parents to seek reinstatement of parental rights when a child remains in foster care more than a year after a termination of parental rights.

Supporters told the committee the option would be used infrequently but could benefit children for whom adoption or another form of permanency has not been secured. Julie Hoffman, adoptions administrator with Children and Family Services at the Department of Health and Human Services, told the committee, “This bill addresses potential, reinstatement of parental rights.” Hoffman said the measure grew from an interim study directed by the 2023 legislative session and that a stakeholder work group reviewed statutes from other states and state foster-care data.

Under the bill as described to the committee, a petition for reestablishment may be filed only by a party to the original termination-of-parental-rights proceeding, must be filed at least 12 months after the final termination order, and cannot be filed if the child has been adopted or is under a formal pre-adoptive placement. The bill requires a prima facie review at filing and sets…