In re the Dependency of J.S.

A parent whose child is the subject of a dependency action may propose a properly qualified adoptive placement for the child. A statute requires the Department of Social and Health Services to follow that preference if the parent agrees to a termination of parental rights and a court finds the placement to be in the best interest of the child. In this case, where the child was already thriving with relatives who were willing to adopt him, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that it was not in the child’s best interest to be placed with a new adoptive family chosen by…