Terminatinating The Parental Rights of The Disabled

Posted on October 4, 2007 by J. Benjamin Stevens

In its recent decision, South Carolina Dept. of Social Services v. Mother, the S.C. Court of Appeals affirmed the Family Court’s termination of the mother’s parental rights to her daughter.  The appellate court rejected the mother’s argument that the Department of Social Services had not properly provided services to accommodate her condition of mild mental retardation.  The Court found that the existence of the Americans with Disabilities Act does not prevent terminating someone's parental rights when it is in the child’s best interest and D.S.S. makes reasonable efforts to remedy any conditions leading to the child’s removal under S.C. Code § 20-7-1572(6).  You can read the full text of this opinion by clicking HERE.

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Termination of Parental Rights Due to Diagnosable Condition

Posted on January 24, 2007 by J. Benjamin Stevens

The South Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed a Family Court Order terminating a mother's parental rights.  In this case, the Court found that she had a diagnosable condition not likely to change within a reasonable time which makes her unlikely to provide minimally acceptable care for the child and that the termination of her parental rights was therefore in the child’s best interest.

The Court agreed with the Family Court’s conclusion that clear and convincing evidence existed in the expert medical testimony to support the termination of Doe’s parental rights.  Finally, the Court reasoned that the evidentiary record taken as a whole, including lay testimony, expert testimony, psychological reports and the guardian ad litem’s recommendation, is sufficient to prove that Doe is not capable of providing the level of care the child needs.

You can read the full text of SCDSS v. Doe by clicking HERE.

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