I have a friend whose daughter's father has been in prison for the past several years and no one is sure when he will be released. She is now with someone who would like to adopt her daughter but cannot because of the father's rights. The father has not contacted his daughter in years and will not respond to the mother's letter asking him to give up his parental rights. We live in the state of Nebraska if that effects any of the laws. Please help my friend. When is a child abandonment considered to have taken place if a parent is no longer participating in the parenting of his/her child?

Welcome to AMHD. The fact that you live in Nebraska is very important because adoption law is determined within each state and it tends to be very technical, meaning, your friend will need the services of a competent attorney. Generally, when someone makes application to adopt, then the parental rights of the natural parent have to be dealt with, in this case, to be terminated. Again, generally, the issue is whether the father's behavior is deemed to be unfit. See: Nebraska - Grounds For Termination of Parental Rights

Part of the trouble here is there are various levels of losing a persons rights, for adoption it it much harder. You will need an attorney no matter what you do. They will have him legally served to respond.

I agree with Fr_Chuck. If you have him served with papers while you still know where he is then you will get the ball rolling. Another thing is you may also want to excuse any arrears he might have if the adoption takes place giving him a chance to start fresh when he gets out.