In Mississippi, parental rights refer to the rights and responsibilities of parents in relation to their children. A court can terminate parental rights when they deem it necessary for the child’s welfare.
Drug addiction or alcoholism
Parents who are addicted to drugs or alcohol can often be harmful to their children. Drug addiction or alcoholism can lead to neglect of the child, physical abuse, emotional abuse and create an unsafe environment for the child’s development. For that reason, many states have laws that allow for the termination of parental rights for parents who are already addicted to drugs or alcohol.
Child abuse or neglect
Child abuse or neglect is another common ground for the termination of parental rights. Child abuse can include physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Neglect can include things, like failure to provide food, clothing, shelter, or medical care. When a parent repeatedly engages in child abuse or neglect, the court may decide that it is in the child’s best interests to terminate the parent’s rights.
Long-term separation from a child
Sometimes, parents get separated from their children for long periods of time. For example, the parent may be in prison or unable to find the child. In cases like this, the court may allow for modification to existing family law court orders to change child custody and thereby terminate existing parental rights after a certain period of time passes without contact between the parent and child. They often do this to ensure that the child is not permanently separated from their parent.
Abandonment of a child
Abandonment usually happens when the parent leaves the child without any care or support. The parent may also refuse to have any contact with the child. In some cases, abandonment may take the form of failure to provide financial support for the child.
There are a number of other grounds for termination of parental rights, including abandonment, failure to support the child, and being a registered sex offender. If you know of a situation where parental rights should get terminated, it is best to understand your state’s laws and the process involved.
