Termination of parental rights in New York: Why such a variation by county?

• Published in: Family court review Vol. 58; no. 3; pp. 793 - 803
• Main Authors: Weinberger, Bari Z., Pollack, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.07.2020; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: CHILD WELFARE; DRUG ABUSE; FAMILIES; Mental health; Parent and child; Parental rights; PARENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES; Parents & parenting; Termination of Parental Rights; TPR; UNITED STATES; New York; United States > US
• ISSN: 1531-2445; 1744-1617
• DOI: 10.1111/fcre.12513

Termination of parental rights ("TPR") ends the parent-child relationship though a process governed by state law. As a recent analysis of federal data revealed, TPR rates vary widely by state. In West Virginia, the TPR rate was 283 per 100,000. In New York State, the focus of this article, there were approximately 30 TPRs for every 100,000 children in 2014. Within New York State, TPR rates vary by county. In this exploratory piece, we analyze TPR rates in New York by county, noting discrepancies and seeking possible explanations for these variations, including possible effects of income disparities, single-parent households, poor mental health, binge drinking, and drug addiction. This is an initial exploration only, and is not intended to be a rigorous quantitative study. Rather, our scope arises from what we have noticed from front line practice. It is our hope that researchers will use our exploratory findings for extended analysis, including analysis of TPR data from other states.