Publication Date
2000
Abstract
During the past twenty years, the American ideal of the traditional nuclear family made up of heterosexual parents and their children has been increasingly replaced by a number of new and unconventional family systems. Although many of these novel family systems have received recognition by the courts, foster families have been consistently denied legal rights to the children that they raise. Due to the reality of changing dynamics in family systems in the United States, and the failure of the present foster care system, the judicial system needs to reevaluate its denial of foster parents' due process rights. This Note explores the nature and purpose of the foster care system and discusses the standards typically applied by courts in custody determinations,concluding that courts need to develop and to implement a new, more objective standard upon which to base custody decisions. Additionally, this Note explores dicta in Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality and Reform, finding that the Court's rationale for denying due process rights to foster families does not apply when a court has terminated the rights of a child's biological family.
Recommended Citation
Haury, Cassandra S.
(2000)
"The Changing American Family: A Reevaluation of the Rights of Foster Parents When Biological Parental Rights Have Been Terminated,"
Georgia Law Review: Vol. 35:
No.
1, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/glr/vol35/iss1/5