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House adopts new ground for terminating parental rights to aid guardians seeking adoption after prolonged parental absence
Summary
The House Committee of the Whole recommended Senate File 22 do pass, adding a new statutory ground to allow termination of parental rights when a child has been in a guardian relative’s care for 24 consecutive months and the court finds the parent unfit.
Senate File 22 — a proposal to add a new ground for termination of parental rights to help guardians (often grandparents) adopt children who have lived with them for extended periods — passed the Committee of the Whole after floor amendments and debate.
Representative Chastick, speaking for the bill, said the change addresses a “growing problem” in which grandparents and other relatives care for children while biological parents cycle in and out of substance abuse or instability. The bill adds a tenth category allowing termination of parental rights where a child has been…
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