Opinion ID: 2600504
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Parental Incarceration

Text: Parental incarceration alone is an insufficient basis on which to terminate parental rights. Prior to the legislature's adoption of the Code in 1963, this court held a felony conviction alone does not work a forfeiture of parental rights: We cannot hold that every convicted felon, by that fact alone, loses all parental rights in children. . . . It is not one of the punishments prescribed by law that conviction of a felony works also for forfeiture of parental rights. Diernfeld v. People, 137 Colo. 238, 244, 323 P.2d 628, 631 (1958); see also Ziemer v. Wheeler, 89 Colo. 242, 242, 1 P.2d 579, 581 (1931) (The trial court took judicial notice of the fact that plaintiff had, at some time, been convicted of a violation of the prohibitory law of this state, but this fact alone would not justify it in taking from the parent the custody and control of his children.). We did not hold, however, that a trial court is precluded from considering parental incarceration. With the adoption of the Code, the General Assembly likewise permitted trial courts to consider parental incarceration in termination proceedings. In this regard, the Code makes clear that parental incarceration informs a court's fitness inquiry: The trial court may, and in some cases must, consider parental incarceration in determining fitness. §§ 19-3-604(1)(b)-(1)(c), 19-3-604(2). Concerning the long-term confinement of the parent as a basis for unfitness, section 19-3-604(1)(b)(III) sets forth two relevant classes, those who will be confined for more than six years and those who will be confined for less than six years, but for at least thirty-six months. People ex rel. E.I.C., 958 P.2d 511, 514 (Colo.App.1998). Without regard to the child's age, the trial court may terminate parental rights if the parent is confined and not eligible for parole for at least six years after the date the child was adjudicated dependent or neglected and the court cannot devise an appropriate treatment plan to address parental unfitness. § 19-3-604(1)(b)(III). Alternatively, if the subject child is under the age of six when the petition is filed, the trial court may terminate parental rights if the parent is confined and not eligible for parole for at least thirty-six months after the date the child is adjudicated dependent or neglected and the court cannot devise an appropriate treatment plan to address parental unfitness. § 19-3-604(1)(b)(III). Section 19-3-604(1)(c) also specifies parental incarceration as a factor informing parental fitness. Section 19-3-604(2) enumerates factors the court shall consider in determining a parent unfit under section 19-3-604(1)(c). These factors include  but are not limited to  conduct towards the child of a physically or sexually abusive nature; history of violent behavior; a single incident of life-threatening or serious bodily injury or disfigurement of the child; excessive use of intoxicating liquors or controlled substances; neglect of the child; and the length of time the child has been in foster care. § 19-3-604(2). In addition, the court shall consider any one of the bases for a finding of parental unfitness contained in section 19-3-604(1)(b). § 19-3-604(2)(a). Thus, the trial court must consider an incarceration of at least six years after the date the child was adjudicated dependent or neglected and an incarceration of at least thirty-six months after the date a child under the age of six was adjudicated dependent or neglected. The requirement that a court consider section 19-3-604(1)(b)(III) in determining parental fitness under section 19-3-604(2) does not preclude the court from considering periods of incarceration not specified therein. As noted above, the court must give primary consideration to the physical, mental, and emotional conditions and needs of the child. § 19-3-604(3), C.R.S. (2005); People ex rel. M.M., 184 Colo. 298, 303, 520 P.2d 128, 131 (1974) (primary and controlling issue in termination proceedings, even though parental rights are at stake, is the determination of what will best serve the interests and welfare of the child). Depending on the particular facts of a case, a period of incarceration under thirty-six months may affect the child's physical, mental, and emotional conditions and needs. Under such circumstances, a period of incarceration for fewer than thirty-six months may affect the parent's ability to become fit within a reasonable period of time. People ex rel. M.H., 10 P.3d 713, 714 (Colo.App.2000). We see nothing in the Code precluding the trial court from considering even a relatively short period of parental incarceration as a significant factor in determining fitness. Section 19-3-604(2) also requires the trial court to consider that a child has been in foster care for fifteen of the past twenty-two months. § 19-3-604(2)(k), C.R.S. (2005). However, if the child has been in foster care for such duration due to circumstances beyond the control of the parent such as incarceration of the parent for a reasonable period of time, the court is not required to consider this circumstance. § 19-3-604(2)(k)(IV), C.R.S. (2005). This exception does not exclude from consideration the time the child has been in foster care as a factor bearing upon the larger issue of whether termination is in the best interests of the child. People ex rel. M.H., 10 P.3d at 714 (citing § 19-3-604(3)). Rather, the parental incarceration exception merely makes the duration of foster care a discretionary factor in the fitness inquiry: in determining unfitness, the court shall consider, but not be limited to, the enumerated factors. § 19-3-604(2). The General Assembly did not intend to prevent a court from considering the duration of foster care and the child's need for permanency in relationship to the length of parental incarceration. Indeed, a court may consider parental incarceration as a factor in determining parental fitness and, thereby, as a factor affecting the needs of a child who has been adjudicated dependent or neglected. If a parent cannot be expected to provide a stable home atmosphere for the child within a reasonable period, the state's compelling interest in the welfare of the subject child justifies the termination of that parent's rights.