Court Opinion

ID: 9819548
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 06:27:27.783304+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:38:31.210336
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE McDADE, specially concurring: I concur in the judgment of the majority but write separately to clarify that there are some circumstances where a parent is entitled to a specific period of time to correct the conditions that led to the removal of the minor. While section 1(D) (e) of the Adoption Act (Act) (750 ILCS 50/ 1(D)(e) (West 2008)) does not entitle a parent to a specific period of time before a trial court may find the parent unfit, section 1(D) (m) (750 ILCS 50/1(D)(m) (West 2008)) of the Act does. Section 1(D)(m)(ii) provides that a parent can be deemed unfit where he or she has failed to “make reasonable progress toward the return of the child to the parent within 9 months after an adjudication of neglected or abused minor *** or dependent minor” has been made. 750 ILCS 50/ 1(D)(m)(ii) (West 2008). If the State had sought a finding of unfitness on this basis, section (1)(D)(m)(ii) would have guaranteed respondent 9 months after I.B. was adjudicated abused and neglected to make reasonable progress toward the return of I.B. See 750 ILCS 50/ 1(D)(m)(ii) (West 2008). Thus, the question of whether a parent is entitled to a specific period of time to correct the conditions that led to the removal of the minor is dependent upon what prong the State seeks to establish the parent’s unfitness.