Parenting involves facilitating an infant’s development regarding physical, emotional, social, financial and intellectual aspects. A parent can be biologically related to an infant or not (Conger, 2007). Establishing a solid parental support system at home is the key to raising an upright well-rounded child. The goal for all good parents is to enable the child to feel competent and confident and to assist the child in developing a good passion and purpose. When parents fail to perform their duties as parents, they become guilty of child abuse. Ill-treatment of children can be explained by an action or failure to act by a caregiver or a parent which results in injury, emotional harm or death of a child (Goldman, 2003). Parents do have rights that govern their custody, care and control over their kids. The law leaves the charge of the child under the care of the parent. Under normal circumstances, no authority would interfere with this kind of parental rights. As long as the parent fulfils their duties and obligations no one follows them about to monitor their actions. The state only intervenes when the parent fails to commit to their duties as is in the best interest of the child.
It is a pity that some parent can be labelled to be unfit to take care of a child. Examples of inadequate parents, in this case, include those who are involved in drug abuse, domestic violence, some event totally neglect their children welfare that they make their children leave home and not appear for some time (Newman, 2004). Imagine a situation where a parent goes into extreme conditions like rape, torture and severe physical; injury. Some parents even vanish from home. Sometimes a parent loses their children in crowded places and fails to report or claim the child for up to three months.
The state has the power to prosecute the parent who does not provide adequately for their children. The juvenile court is in place to help a child who is in danger especially from their parents (Casella, 2003). Some parents do abuse their right to discipline the child and end up harming the child instead. Anyone who believes some child is in danger should immediately reach out the department of human service child welfare division (DHS) specialists are in place to determine the physical or mental injuries caused by a parent on the child.
Upon establishment of danger, a parent can lose legal custody of the child. The right to making decisions about the child regarding any matter concerning the child is limited. These duties then fall to DHS. The state usually considers a child’s best interest during the termination proceedings. Aspects considered in this case are like child’s age, the physical, mental, emotional and moral well-being and also the child’s reasoning capacity. While the law presumes that parents act in the best interests of their children, this assumption may be overcome. Among other factors abuse of the child is a strong ground for termination of parental rights. Most state interventions involve termination of parental rights in an attempt to correct this condition. In many states among them; Illinois, Columbia, Kentucky, and New Jersey, the state can terminate a parent’s rights if the parent is convicted of committing sexual abuse or any other sexual offence (Allard, 2002). Some dangerous ground for termination of parental rights includes sexual assault or conviction of rape leading to the conception of a child in most states. However, a good number of abusive parents are unwilling to discharge their responsibility for and to the child. In the event of a firm conviction of parental abuse, most juvenile court laws proposed and still do the termination of parental rights of a parent. As some states recommend, the parental rights for a rapist should permanently and completely be terminated. Not just to protect the child but the rape victim as well.
As each child is unique, every child deserves a care plan that is individualized. Child abuse is a social evil facing children in many states. Abusive homes inflict trauma on the child. Ill-treatment of children in the past was used to advocate for the removal of a child, temporarily, from the abusive parent. However currently, the federal legislation implements a framework that enables termination of parental rights to right this evil. As a result of Adoption and Safe Families Act, there are increased numbers of adoption cases and involuntary termination as well. With a reference from Court Appointed Special Advocate, a state can make a determination concerning a child's interest where an abusive parent is involved.
Indeed, some children are at a risk for child abuse and need child protection. Contrary to the past where options for the child included a return to the parents, Permanent placement of the child is emphasized. Statistical analysis of a once child abusive parent reveals a high chance of repetition in the future. Despite the presumption that a child benefits by interacting with their real parents, there is a risk of them to suffer abuse yet again from their parents. Torture and sexual abuse are the possibilities for abusive parenting. A once abusive parent is unfit to parent despite any efforts or changes they make hence should permanently lose their parenting rights.
References
Conger, R. D., & Donnellan, M. B. (2007). An interactionist perspective on the socioeconomic context of human development. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 58, 175-199.
Goldman, J., Salus, M. K., Wolcott, D., & Kennedy, K. Y. (2003). A Coordinated Response to Child Abuse and Neglect: The Foundation for Practice. Child Abuse and Neglect User Manual Series.
Newman, S. A. (2004). Use and Abuse of Social Science in the Same-Sex Marriage Debate, The. NYL such. L. rev., 49, 537.
Casella, R. (2003). Zero tolerance policy in schools: Rationale, consequences, and alternatives. The Teachers College Record, 105(5), 872-892.
Allard, P. (2002). Life sentences: Denying welfare benefits to women convicted of drug offenses. Washington, DC: Sentencing Project.
