My brother and his (now ex) girlfriend had a baby less than a year ago. This baby was taken by DCF and they have both, separately, been working towards reunification with their child. I read that Vermont law states that a parents right can be terminated if they have been charged with a felony. My brother is still wanted in a different state for a felony charge. Since the charge is not in the state of Vermont, is this still ground for terminating his rights? And if it is, and the court has been fully aware of this charge from the beginning, are they just giving him false hope that he could ever get custody of his child?

Was he the caregiver of the child when the child was taken? Who is trying to have his rights taken away? It really dosen't matter what state the fellony took place in if he was charged as a fellon its on his perminant record.

My brother and the baby's mother were both the caregiver at the time the baby was taken away. The baby was taken by the department of family services, and it is up to a judge to decide if either of the two are fit to be parents. Everyone is aware of his charge in a different state, so do you think they are giving him false hope in making him think that if he finds a place to live, gets a job... etc, that they would actually give him custody of his child?

Well, not really, I know that sounds wishy washy. If he manages to get everything accomplished that the judge ordered him to accomplish by the deadline assigned then they could get custody back. You say he is "wanted" does that mean he has not been found guilty?

What is he being charged for ? Why doesn't he take responsibility for it ?
Also just being charged with a crime isn't reason enough to deny a child a parent but a conviction is. Those are worlds apart.

He was convicted of a felony. After spending some time in prison, he was let out on probation. He is currently wanted because he skipped out on his probation. Vermont law says that if a parent has been convicted of a felony, this is grounds for termination of parental rights. He won't go back to take responsibility for his actions because he does not want to go back to prison.

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Originally Posted by abl0918

He was convicted of a felony. after spending some time in prison, he was let out on probation. he is currently wanted because he skipped out on his probation. vermont law says that if a parent has been convicted of a felony, this is grounds for termination of parental rights. he won't go back to take responsibility for his actions because he does not want to go back to prison.

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If they do any background check at all he will not get custody - he's a felon with an open warrant.

Further, it does the child no good if your brother DOES get custody, then gets picked up again, then the child goes back into the custody of CPS.

I think Vermont is pretty clear on this - convicted felons can't get custody and he's a convicted felon, doesn't matter where.

If he can't take responsibility for his own life I question his ability to take proper care of a child - and I'm not criticizing you. I know he's your brother but if you look at this situation it's pretty cut and dried.

MAYBE, if the Felony was a long ago thing and there was enough evidence as to how good a father he might be, a judge might show leniency. But as it stands now, you really have to be kidding. He is a convicted felon who violated parole and has an outstanding warrant. He's lucky VT doesn't extradite him.

I say, no way, is a judge going to ignore or overrule the law in his case.

Maybe, if he voluntarily turns himself in to the other state and serves his time, he might, one day get rights. But not now.

"If he can't take responsibility for his own life I question his ability to take proper care of a child"

I agree with you. In attempt to be 'political' about the situation, I did not say whether I wanted my brother to get custody. Clearly this is an issue where my opinion does not matter and will be left up to a judge.

"If they do any background check at all he will not get custody - he's a felon with an open warrant."

So therein lies my issue. They HAVE done a background check and are well aware that he is a felon with an open warrant. But, they have never mentioned that because of this he would not be able to get custody of his child. I am not saying whether I think he should get custody, but if they know that they would never grant him custody because of his open warrant for a felony then I feel like they are giving him false hope by telling him to do a laundry list of things to work towards getting his child back.

He is lucky Vermont doesn't extradite him. The police in state where he is wanted are well aware of where he is and have made it clear that they will not pay to have him extradited. The only way he will get picked up is if he goes back to that state - which he is not planning on doing.

Its possible that the level this case has reached, the people involved don't have the ability to make a decision. But once it gets to someone who can it will be denied.

I want to thank everyone for your input. After reading all of your responses I got in touch with my brother and stressed that he should ask his lawyer about this. He met with his lawyer today and she told him that he would not be able to get custody of his son. I think he took it well, and at least he knows now that he doesn't have to keep 'jumping through hoops' and he can focus on getting his life in order now. Hopefully my parents will be granted custody soon so that my nephew is no longer in foster care.

So, and update on the situation. Apparently now the mother of the child is pretty much out of the picture now. But DCF is telling my brother his open warrant will not affect his ability to get custody of his child.

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Originally Posted by abl0918

So, and update on the situation. Apparently now the mother of the child is pretty much out of the picture now. but DCF is telling my brother his open warrant will not affect his ability to get custody of his child.

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Thank you for coming back and letting us know. We all appreciate it greatly.

What I don't understand is that my brother's lawyer told him that with his open warrant for a felony in a different state would prevent him from having a judge ever grant him custody of his child. But DCF is telling him that judges grant custody of children to parents in worse situations than he is in, and that his open warrant shouldn't be an issue. Who should he believe? He has a lot of mental illnesses, and this false hope could be very dangerous.