43-292.02. Termination of parental rights; state; duty to file petition; when.

(1) A petition shall be filed on behalf of the state to terminate the parental rights of the juvenile's parents or, if such a petition has been filed by another party, the state shall join as a party to the petition, and the state shall concurrently identify, recruit, process, and approve a qualified family for an adoption of the juvenile, if:

(a) A juvenile has been in foster care under the responsibility of the state for fifteen or more months of the most recent twenty-two months; or

(b) A court of competent jurisdiction has determined the juvenile to be an abandoned infant or has made a determination that the parent has committed murder of another child of the parent, committed voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent, aided or abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to commit murder, or aided or abetted voluntary manslaughter of the juvenile or another child of the parent, or committed a felony assault that has resulted in serious bodily injury to the juvenile or another minor child of the parent. For purposes of this subdivision, infant means a child eighteen months of age or younger.

(2) A petition shall not be filed on behalf of the state to terminate the parental rights of the juvenile's parents or, if such a petition has been filed by another party, the state shall not join as a party to the petition if the sole factual basis for the petition is that (a) the parent or parents of the juvenile are financially unable to provide health care for the juvenile or (b) the parent or parents of the juvenile are incarcerated. The fact that a qualified family for an adoption of the juvenile has been identified, recruited, processed, and approved shall have no bearing on whether parental rights shall be terminated.

(3) The petition is not required to be filed on behalf of the state or if a petition is filed the state shall not be required to join in a petition to terminate parental rights or to concurrently find a qualified family to adopt the juvenile under this section if:

(a) The child is being cared for by a relative;

(b) The Department of Health and Human Services has documented in the case plan or permanency plan, which shall be available for court review, a compelling reason for determining that filing such a petition would not be in the best interests of the juvenile; or

(c) The family of the juvenile has not had a reasonable opportunity to avail themselves of the services deemed necessary in the case plan or permanency plan approved by the court if reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify the family are required under section 43-283.01.

(4) Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act, if a child is conceived by the victim of a sexual assault, a petition for termination of parental rights of the perpetrator shall be granted if such termination is in the best interests of the child and (a) the perpetrator has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to sexual assault of the child’s birth parent under section 28-319 or 28-320 or a law in another jurisdiction similar to either section 28-319 or 28-320 or (b) the perpetrator has fathered the child or given birth to the child as a result of such sexual assault.

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Cross References

Annotations

Pursuant to the second sentence in subsection (2) of this section, a juvenile court, when deciding whether to terminate parental rights, should not consider that an adoptive family has been identified. In re Interest of Destiny A. et al., 274 Neb. 713, 742 N.W.2d 758 (2007).

Pursuant to subsection (3)(b) of this section, an exception hearing must be conducted after the child has been in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months. In re Interest of Sarah K., 258 Neb. 52, 601 N.W.2d 780 (1999).

For termination of parental rights, this section's "identification and approval of an adoptive family" requirement is not a requirement for termination. In re Interest of Georgina V. & Manuel V., 9 Neb. App. 791, 620 N.W.2d 130 (2000).