Parental Capacity / Termination of Parental Rights Evaluations

An additional evaluation that can prove beneficial, especially to parents in unique circumstances is parental capacity and parental rights evaluations. Similar in many ways to the child custody evaluations; these evaluations go a little more into depth on the individual parents and the rolls they play in raising their children. A court orders these evaluations to determine where the child is most safe and well cared for.  A parent or family member of the child can also request this be done. This evaluation will determine if the child’s welfare is at stake due to a parent with limited mental capacity or other psychological issues.  

What does a Parental Rights/Capacity Evaluation Look like?

The evaluations are conducted through interviews and questionnaires on all family members who spend significant time with the children. This will help the evaluator and court determine the best possible course of action to take. Evaluators then submit their findings to the court. If parents cannot make the decision on their own, the court will weigh the findings and make a ruling.

Sometimes, only one parent receives an evaluation. This happens often when mental abilities are in question. Substance abuse questions and evaluations are  another suggestion if a parent may be abusing substances. 

The child is only brought in as necessary to highlight additional details of the parent-child relationship.  These details can indicate whether or not the parent is capable of caring for the child in the way the child needs. 

Additionally, you can have yourself evaluated if you believe you are the more responsible and mentally stable caregiver.  This will give you a greater chance to show, through the evaluation, that you are mentally sound and be the best provider. This can be done at the behest of the other parent, so be sure you are comfortable taking on this evaluation, knowing the parent to parent relationship may be damaged even further. This can cause additional trauma to the child involved as well.

To schedule an appointment to get your parental rights/capacity evaluation with Dr. Deloney call (317-476-7272) or email for additional information, and to set up a time.