In the Interest of: J.P.B. M.R.S. v. Greene County Juvenile Office

I respectfully dissent. The majority affirms the trial court’s judgment terminating Father’s parental lights on the basis that the record shows that Father (1) failed to rectify the conditions that led to the court’s taking jurisdiction, and (2) is unfit to be a party to the parent-child relationship because he has been incarcerated since J.P.B.’s birth. The majority says that, while incarceration in itself does not make a parent unfit or constitute a failure to rectify, incarceration for more than a brief period does itself make a parent “unable to care appropriately for Child or provide…