[catsh0109]

Hello. I have a 12 year old son. His father has maybe paid six months to a year of childsupport. I have been trying to have the order enforced however they can never locate him to serve him. I know where he is but they can never locate him there. I call and tell him when the court dates are and still doesn't show. He sees my son probably once every three or four months. My son has apparent anger issues because his father is not around. I have tried everything that I can do to get him involved in my sons life. I even let my son go over to his house for fathers day ( what a joke). Is this grounds to get parental rights terminated in Texas if he is not providing support and not showing up to court. If anything ever happens to me I do not want this man taken care of my son.

[GV70]

Grounds
The child has been abandoned by the parent in the sense that the parent has failed to maintain a reasonable degree of interest, concern or responsibility as to the welfare of the child;

(B) the child has been denied, by reason of an act or acts of parental commission or omission, including, but not limited to sexual molestation and exploitation, severe physical abuse or a pattern of abuse, the care, guidance or control necessary for the child's physical, educational, moral or emotional well-being. Nonaccidental or inadequately explained serious physical injury to a child shall constitute prima facie evidence of acts of parental commission or omission sufficient for the termination of parental rights;

(C) there is no ongoing parent-child relationship which is defined as the relationship that ordinarily develops as a result of a parent having met on a continuing, day-to-day basis the physical, emotional, moral and educational needs of the child and to allow further time for the establishment or reestablishment of the parent-child relationship would be detrimental to the best interests of the child;

(D) the parent of a child who (I) has been found by the Superior Court or the Probate Court to have been neglected or uncared for in a prior proceeding, or (ii) is found to be neglected or uncared for and has been in the custody of the commissioner for at least fifteen months and such parent has been provided specific steps to take to facilitate the return of the child to the parent pursuant to section 46b-129 and has failed to achieve such degree of personal rehabilitation as would encourage the belief that within a reasonable time, considering the age and needs of the child, such parent could assume a responsible position in the life of the child;

(E) the parent of a child, under the age of seven years who is neglected or uncared for, has failed, is unable or is unwilling to achieve such degree of personal rehabilitation as would encourage the belief that within a reasonable amount of time, considering the age and needs of the child, such parent could assume a responsible position in the life of the child and such parent's parental rights of another child were previously terminated pursuant to a petition filed by the Commissioner of Children and Families;

(F) the parent has killed through deliberate, nonaccidental act another child of the parent or has requested, commanded, importuned, attempted, conspired or solicited such killing or has committed an assault, through deliberate, nonaccidental act that resulted in serious bodily injury of another child of the parent; or

(G) the parent was convicted as an adult or a delinquent by a court of competent jurisdiction of sexual assault resulting in the conception of the child except for a violation of section 53a-71 or 53a-73a, provided the court may terminate such parent's parental rights to such child at any time after such conviction.”

[GV70]

Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights
The parent-child relationship is a fundamental right of all persons. As a result, the burden of proof necessary to terminate parental rights is quite high. Parental rights may only be terminated involuntarily if it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that one of the following apply:
Abandonment. Abandonment takes place where there is an intention to forsake the duties of parenthood. In re Welfare of L.A.F. 554 N.W.2d 393, 398 (Minn.App.1996). The Court may infer this intention when a parent fails to visit a child, refuses to accept responsibility for the child, and a fails to provide financial or emotional support to the child.
Failure to Provide Parental Support. Rights may be terminated when there is clear and convincing evidence that a parent has substantially and repeatedly neglected to comply with the duties of a parent such as the duty to provide necessary food, clothing, shelter, education, and other care necessary for the child's physical, mental, or emotional health and development. This only applies if the parent has failed to provide support without good cause. In other words, parental rights cannot be terminated if the parent is physically and financially unable to provide support
Failure to Provide Financial Support. Rights may be terminated when a parent has been ordered to pay child support or to financially aid in the child's birth and has continuously failed to do so despite having the financial ability to do so. T
Unfit Parents. A parent that is unfit may have parental rights terminated if it can be shown that the parent has demonstrated a consistent pattern of specific conduct before the child or of specific conditions directly relating to the parent and child relationship which renders that parent unable, for the reasonably foreseeable future, to care appropriately for the ongoing physical, mental, or emotional needs of the child. Significantly , there is also a presumption that a parent is unfit if the his/her parental rights were terminated to another child in the past.
Foster Care Placement & Continued Parental Problems. Parental rights may be terminated if a child has been placed in foster care because of issues that make a parent unfit and following that placement reasonable efforts, under the direction of the court, have failed to correct the conditions which would allow the child to be reunited with the parent. Additionally, rights may be terminated for child neglect to the degree that the child is placed in foster care.
Egregious Harm to Child. If a child has experienced egregious harm in the parent's care which indicates a lack of regard for the child's well-being parental rights may be terminated.
Conviction of Crimes. A parent's conviction of certain crimes may also form a basis for the termination of that parent's rights.
When making a termination decision, the court is to rely "not primarily on past history, but to a great extent upon the projected permanency of the parent's inability to care for his or her child."