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Abstract

In the United States, it is considered a fundamental constitutional liberty for a parent to be able to control the upbringing of their children. Under this construction, unless a parent’s care reaches the extent of abuse or neglect, affecting a child’s health, welfare, or safety, they should be free to parent their child(ren). Yet, despite this construction, a finding of parental unfitness as to one child will allow an Illinois family court to terminate the parental rights of that individual toward all subsequent children. This process does not currently have any exceptions for parents whose circumstances have changed or who have since been rehabilitated.

By having this automatic termination of parental rights to subsequent children, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and the foster care system overall, places even more children into the foster care system, which by and large cannot support such a large number of children under the current scheme. Moreover, by failing to consider changed circumstances, or rehabilitative efforts put forth by parents, the system may be taking children away from capable and willing families. Therefore, a new assessment procedure should be put in place.

The proposed procedure involves implementing a state-wide assessment of rehabilitative efforts, time elapsed, and other factors. The State and society are afraid that leaving children with parents who have previously been deemed unfit will lead to unnecessary harm to future, subsequent children. Although in some cases, this assumption may be true, in other cases, parents may turn their lives around by rising out of poverty, treating a substance abuse problem, or leaving an abusive relationship—these things need to be considered. This note brings to light the benefits that a rehabilitative assessment could have on the foster care system, both in the State of Illinois and nationally, given the current number of children within it.

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