Unfit to parent: American and Jewish legal perspectives.

Abstract

When do parents become unfit to parent their children? Broadly speaking, parental unfitness may be determined by considering such factors as a parent’s conduct and capacity to provide for their child’s needs. Parents who are judicially determined to be unfit may have their parental rights terminated, may lose custody, or have visitation orders drastically modified or denied. Should a court decide that both parents are unfit, a child may be placed in foster care or be available for adoption. Unfitness to parent may arise in a variety of circumstances: allegations of child maltreatment (abandonment, abuse, and neglect), custody, incarceration of the parent, or disability or incompetence of the parent. These specific issues are discussed, from an American legal perspective in Part II. Part III addresses similar issues from a Halachic perspective—Jewish law and jurisprudence, based on the Talmud. (from Introduction)