Committee unanimously backs bill to ensure parental incarceration isn’t sole basis for terminating parental rights

The House Children and Youth Committee voted 26–0 to report House Bill 138 as amended, a measure that would clarify statutory grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights and require guidance and training tied to arrests of caregivers.

Staff summarized the bill as amending Section 25.11 of Title 23 to ensure that parental incarceration is not, by itself, the sole basis for terminating parental rights. The bill directs courts to consider whether incarcerated parents are maintaining meaningful roles in their children’s lives and whether they have made efforts to comply with family service plans to the extent feasible. The bill also calls for training for law-enforcement officers on child-safety procedures when a parent or guardian is arrested and for improved identification procedures for minor or dependent children upon arrest.

Amendment A03346 (sponsored by Representative McNeil) further added language excluding environmental factors — such as inadequate housing or income beyond a parent's control — from being sole grounds for termination. Proponents cited a 2011 joint state-government commission report documenting the scale of parental incarceration and its disparate effects, particularly on children of color; the sponsor noted nearly 2,000,000 children have an incarcerated parent and urged that courts consider those family dynamics. The amendment passed 26–0 and the committee reported the bill as amended 26–0.

Support organizations listed in the committee summary included Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, Children 1st, and the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania. No organized opposition was recorded in the bill summary.