In the Matter of Grace H.

The district court concluded that "Grace H.'s" father's parental rights should be terminated pursuant to a finding of abandonment without establishing that the conditions of neglect, by abandonment, could be not be cured. The father appealed that ruling, arguing that an ambiguity in Section 32A-4-28 led to an incorrect ruling. He averred that the Children Youth and Families Department (the Department) "used its unfettered discretion to pursue a theory of abandonment under Section 32A-4-28(B)(1) without establishing that it made reasonable efforts to cure the causes of neglect, as required by Section 32A-4-28(B)(2)." While the Supreme Court did not agree with the father’s framing of the issue on appeal, it did agree that Section 32A-4-28 was ambiguous with respect to when abandonment may be used as a basis for termination of parental rights. Furthermore, the Court also agreed that this ambiguity led to the improper termination of his parental rights in this case. For that reason, the Court reversed the district court’s ruling. View "In the Matter of Grace H." on Justia Law