People v. M.D.

On April 23, 1999, the circuit court of Kane County issued an order terminating M.D.’s parental rights to his son, D.D., after finding M.D. to be an unfit parent pursuant to sections 1(D) (m) and 1(D) (s) of the Adoption Act (750 ILCS 50/l(D)(m), (D)(s) (West 1998)). The order was affirmed by the appellate court on appeal. 309 Ill. App. 3d 581. This court granted M.D.’s petition for leave to appeal. 177 Ill. 2d R. 315(a). For the reasons that follow, we now affirm.

BACKGROUND

On July 18, 1996, Copley Hospital notified the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) that on July 17, 1996,…