In Re the Guardianship of DMH

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

HANDLER, J.

This appeal, a companion ease to In re Guardianship of K.H.O., 161 N.J. 337, 736 A.2d 1246 (1999), requires the Court to consider whether the Division of Youth and Family Services has established by clear and convincing evidence that the termination of parental rights is in the best interests of two children under the statutory standards of N.J.S.A. 30:4C-15.1(a). In addressing that ground for decision, the Court must consider the relation of that standard to an alternative statutory standard based on parental abandonment. N.J.S.A.…