NEW JERSEY: In re Adoption of Child by J.E.V.
The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, reversed and remanded the trial court’s order terminating mother’s parental rights as part of a private adoption, holding that mother had a constitutional and statutory right to court-appointed counsel beginning before trial, when the private adoption agency first decided to proceed with an adoption over her objection. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 30:4c-1, the preservation of families is a paramount concern of the state and, pursuant to N.J. Div. of Youth & Family Servs. v. B.R., 192 N.J. 301,305 (2007), the termination of parental rights is of constitutional dimensions. Here, indigent mother placed her two-year-old daughter in foster care with a state-licensed, private adoption agency. Mother did not surrender her parental rights, as her goal was to continue to parent her child, despite financial difficulties. After an unsuccessful short-term foster care placement, the child was placed with Plaintiffs, and they filed their adoption complaint at the suggestion of the agency. Because the termination of parental rights by State action is of constitutional magnitude, the court held that once a private adoption agency determines that it is going to seek adoption over a parent’s objection, that parent has the right to counsel and in the future, a state-licensed, private adoption agency must advise the court at the same time that it notifies an indigent parent that it plans to proceed with adoption and the court will then appoint counsel.
Cite: No. A-3238-13T3, 2015 N.J. Super. LEXIS 178 (App.Div. Oct. 23, 2015)
Link to Full Opinion
Support Us