Opinion ID: 2067710
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether the Father is Able to Protect the Child from Jeopardy

Text: [¶ 9] Jeopardy is defined as: [S]erious abuse or neglect, as evidenced by: A. Serious harm or threat of serious harm; B. Deprivation of adequate food, clothing, shelter, supervision or care or education when the child is at least 7 years of age and has not completed grade 6; B-1. Deprivation of necessary health care when the deprivation places the child in danger of serious harm; C. Abandonment of the child or absence of any person responsible for the child, which creates a threat of serious harm; or D. The end of voluntary placement, when the imminent return of the child to his custodian causes a threat of serious harm. 22 M.R.S. § 4002(6) (2008); see also Adoption of G., 529 A.2d at 811-12 (stating that there is no need to assign different meanings to terms in termination of parental rights and establishment of parental rights contexts). Being unable to protect a child from jeopardy is synonymous with being incapable of doing so. See In re John Joseph V., 500 A.2d at 630. A parent is incapable of protecting its child from jeopardy if, for whatever reason, the parent cannot take responsibility for his or her child. Id. [¶ 10] The evidence demonstrates that there is a substantial likelihood that the father will be incarcerated for at least eight years, and possibly for as long as twenty years. The father therefore cannot personally ensure that the child will not be subject to serious abuse or neglect. Although the father testified that his parents are willing to care for the child, the lack of evidence presented regarding the child-rearing capabilities of the father's parents, or their willingness to provide any care for the child, supports the court's finding that this proposed arrangement does not fulfill the requirement of 18-A M.R.S. § 9-201(i). Thus, the evidence supports the court's finding that the father is unable to protect the child from jeopardy.