in the Interest of A.C., J.Y., J.Y. Jr., L.B., and E.B., Children

Proceedings to terminate the parent-child relationship implicate rights of constitutional magnitude that qualify for heightened judicial protection. Involuntary severance of parental rights thus requires "clear and convincing evidence" that termination is warranted and in the child's best interest. The intermediate proof standard is a constitutional minimum and a statutory mandate that necessitates a commensurately heightened standard of review. In this government-initiated termination proceeding, the issue is whether-under the elevated proof standard-a parent's unrecanted and uncontroverted…