Brooklyn Family Court judge refuses to terminate parental rights of incarcerated, illiterate dad

September 29, 7:46 AMAlbany CPS and Family Court ExaminerDaniel Weaver

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Albany CPS and Family Court Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Kings County (Brooklyn, NY) Family Court Judge J. Alan Beckoff denied a petition to terminate the parental rights of an incarcerated father late last week. In the matter of Jayquan J., SCO Family of Services, a foster care agency, petitioned the court to terminate the parental rights of Clint J., saying that he had made no efforts to contact his child and had abandoned the child, therefore his consent was not needed to put Jayquan up for adoption.

"Teresa Tucker, the SCO caseworker, testified that Jayquan has been in a non-kinship foster home since entering foster care; that Respondent had no contact with him in the six-month period preceding the filing of the petition; that the agency had not discouraged Respondent from visiting or contacting Jayquan; that Respondent had not sent any cards, gifts, or letters to Jayquan; and that no one had come forward on Respondent's behalf. Ms. Tucker also testified that going back to May 2006, when Jayquan first came into SCO's care, Respondent did not have any contact with the child or the agency and had paid no support."

The judge found Tucker's testimony believable, but said in his decision, the agency treated the termination of parental rights in a perfunctory manner, acting as if Mr. J. "was little more than a technicality that had [to] be covered for the termination to go forward."

The court found the testimony of Clint J. to be credible, and his testimony underscores the difficulties that parents who are illiterate and/or incarcerated face when a petition is filed to terminate their parental rights. Mr. J testified  "that he told Becky C. that he wanted to get in touch with Jayquan either directly or through other individuals, but that he never got any addresses or contact information from the "foster people" and so did not know how to contact the New York City Administration for Children's Services ("ACS"). He said that he had no addresses or phone numbers for ACS caseworkers and that he wanted to send Jayquan clothing and cards but did not know where to send anything."

"Sometime in 2006, Respondent said, he tried to find out where Jayquan was by writing to 330 Jay Street, the address of Kings County Family Court. Although he was unable to read or write at the time, he got the address of the courthouse by going to the prison law library, and a friend with a typewriter helped him send that letter and two more. Respondent said that he was trying arrange visits with Jayquan, but he never got a response to his letters. He did receive photos of Jayquan from an unknown source with the child's name on the back. The termination petition was the only set of documents that he ever received."

After a hearing, Judge Beckoff, ruled against the foster care agency, finding that it did not prove by any clear and convincing evidence that Mr. J. had abandoned his child. The court also found the Mr. J. did establish by clear and convincing evidence that his permission was required for his child to be adopted and that "the agency did not show that he evinced an intent to forego his parental rights."

For more info: Read more articles by Dan Weaver on family court, termination of parental rights and other related topics.