Respondent appealed from the circuit court’s termination of her parental rights after it found her to be an unfit parent and for the termination to be in the best interests of her child. The appellate court reversed, finding that the trial court’s conclusion that respondent failed to maintain reasonable efforts to assume responsibility were against the manifest weight of the evidence where the uncontested evidence established that the initial conditions were no longer a barrier to reunification, respondent turned her life around when faced with the loss of her son, and the referrals that she was tasked with following were confusing, contradictory, and often denied. The appellate court also found that respondent made reasonable and demonstrable process in substantially fulfilling the obligations under her service plan. (WALKER, concurring and specially concurring, and MIKVA, dissenting)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Termination of Parental Rights