625.090 Grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights.
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/ky/chapter-625/625-090A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
(1)The Circuit Court may involuntarily terminate all parental rights of a parent of a
named child, if the Circuit Court finds from the record by clear and convincing
evidence that:
(a)1. The child has been adjudged to be an abused or neglected child, as
defined in KRS 600.020(1), by a court of competent jurisdiction;
2. The child is found to be an abused or neglected child, as defined in KRS
600.020(1), by the Circuit Court in this proceeding;
3. The child is found to have been diagnosed with neonatal abstinence
syndrome at the time of birth, unless his or her birth mother:
a. Was prescribed and properly using medication for a legitimate
medical condition as directed by a health care practitioner that may
have led to the neonatal abstinence syndrome;
b. Is currently, or within ninety
(90)days after the birth, enrolled in
and maintaining substantial compliance with both a substance
abuse treatment or recovery program and a regimen of prenatal
care or postnatal care as recommended by her health care
practitioner throughout the remaining term of her pregnancy or the
appropriate time after her pregnancy; or
c. In the absence of a prescription for the treatment of a legitimate
medical condition, agrees, prior to discharge from the hospital, to
participate in a court-ordered assessment by a drug treatment
provider and the assigning of a certified peer support specialist for
referral to appropriate treatment, and agrees to participate in
treatment which shall commence within ninety
(90)days after the
birth; or
4. The parent has been convicted of a criminal charge relating to the
physical or sexual abuse or neglect of any child and that physical or
sexual abuse, neglect, or emotional injury to the child named in the
present termination action is likely to occur if the parental rights are not
terminated;
(b)1. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services has filed a petition with the
court pursuant to KRS 620.180 or 625.050; or
2. A child-placing agency licensed by the cabinet, any county or
Commonwealth's attorney, or a parent has filed a petition with the court
under KRS 625.050; and
(c)Termination would be in the best interest of the child.
(2)No termination of parental rights shall be ordered unless the Circuit Court also finds
by clear and convincing evidence the existence of one
(1)or more of the following
grounds:
(a)That the parent has abandoned the child for a period of not less than ninety
(90)days;
(b)That the parent has inflicted or allowed to be inflicted upon the child, by other
than accidental means, serious physical injury;
(c)That the parent has continuously or repeatedly inflicted or allowed to be
inflicted upon the child, by other than accidental means, physical injury or
emotional harm;
(d)That the parent has been convicted of a felony that involved the infliction of
serious physical injury to any child;
(e)That the parent, for a period of not less than six
(6)months, has continuously
or repeatedly failed or refused to provide or has been substantially incapable
of providing essential parental care and protection for the child and that there
is no reasonable expectation of improvement in parental care and protection,
considering the age of the child;
(f)That the parent has caused or allowed the child to be sexually abused or
exploited;
(g)That the parent, for reasons other than poverty alone, has continuously or
repeatedly failed to provide or is incapable of providing essential food,
clothing, shelter, medical care, or education reasonably necessary and
available for the child's well-being and that there is no reasonable expectation
of significant improvement in the parent's conduct in the immediately
foreseeable future, considering the age of the child;
(h)That:
1. The parent's parental rights to another child have been involuntarily
terminated;
2. The child named in the present termination action was born subsequent
to or during the pendency of the previous termination; and
3. The conditions or factors which were the basis for the previous
termination finding have not been corrected;
(i)That the parent has been convicted in a criminal proceeding of having caused
or contributed to the death of another child as a result of physical or sexual
abuse or neglect;
(j)That the child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the cabinet
for fifteen
(15)cumulative months out of forty-eight
(48)months preceding
the filing of the petition to terminate parental rights; or
(k)That the child has been removed from the biological or legal parents more
than two
(2)times in a twenty-four
(24)month period by the cabinet or a
court.
(3)In determining the best interest of the child and the existence of a ground for
termination, the Circuit Court shall consider the following factors:
(a)Mental illness as defined by KRS 202A.011(9), or an intellectual disability as
defined by KRS 202B.010(9) of the parent as certified by a qualified mental
health professional, or a disability as defined in KRS 199.011, if the mental
illness, intellectual disability, or disability renders the parent consistently
unable to care for the immediate and ongoing physical or psychological needs
of the child for extended periods of time;
(b)Acts of abuse or neglect as defined in KRS 600.020(1) toward any child in the
family;
(c)If the child has been placed with the cabinet, whether the cabinet has, prior to
the filing of the petition:
1. Made reasonable efforts as defined in KRS 620.020 to reunite the child
with the parents unless one or more of the circumstances enumerated in
KRS 610.127 for not requiring reasonable efforts have been
substantiated in a written finding by the District Court; or
2. Provided a parent with a disability as defined in KRS 199.011 with
targeted adaptive and supportive services based on an individual
assessment of the parent, or has received a written acknowledgement
from the parent knowingly and affirmatively rejecting the offered
services;
(d)The efforts and adjustments the parent has made in his or her circumstances,
conduct, or conditions to make it in the child's best interest to return the child
to his or her home within a reasonable period of time, considering the age of
the child;
(e)The physical, emotional, and mental health of the child and the prospects for
the improvement of the child's welfare if termination is ordered; and
(f)The payment or the failure to pay a reasonable portion of substitute physical
care and maintenance if financially able to do so.
(4)If the child has been placed with the cabinet, the parent may present testimony
concerning the reunification, adaptive or supportive services offered by the cabinet,
and whether additional services would be likely to bring about lasting parental
adjustment enabling a return of the child to the parent.
(5)If the parent proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the child will not
continue to be an abused or neglected child as defined in KRS 600.020(1) if
returned to the parent, or if the parent proves by a preponderance of the evidence
that appropriate and specifically targeted adaptive or supportive services based
upon an individual assessment of the parent have not been offered or provided to
the parent, the court in its discretion may determine not to terminate parental rights.
(6)Upon the conclusion of proof and argument of counsel, the Circuit Court shall enter
findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a decision as to each parent-respondent
within thirty
(30)days either:
(a)Terminating the right of the parent; or
(b)Dismissing the petition and stating whether the child shall be returned to the
parent or shall remain in the custody of the state.