The grounds to terminate parental rights in Mississippi are found in Mississippi Statute §93-15-121.  The following factors must be proven by clear and convincing evidence and may be considered as grounds to terminate the parent’s parental rights:

  • SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS  Parent is medically diagnosed by qualified mental health professional with a severe mental illness or deficiency unlikely to change in a reasonable period of time and based on expert testimony or an established pattern of behavior, makes the parent unable or unwilling to provide an adequate permanent home for the child; OR
  • EXTREME PHYSICAL DISABILITY Parent medically diagnosed by a qualified health professional with an extreme physical incapacitation that is unlikely to change in a reasonable period of time and which, based upon expert testimony or an established pattern of behavior, prevents the parent, despite reasonable accommodations, from providing minimally acceptable care for the child; OR
  • CHRONIC ALCOHOLISM OR DRUG ADDICTION Parent is suffering from habitual alcoholism or other drug addiction and has failed to successfully complete alcohol or drug treatment as reasonably directed by the court; OR
  • FAILURE TO PROVIDE BASIC NECESSARY NEEDS Parent unwilling to provide reasonably necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical care for the child; reasonably necessary medical care does not include recommended or optional vaccinations against childhood or any other disease; OR
  • FAILURE TO VISIT AND COMMUNICATE WITH CHILD Parent has failed to exercise reasonable visitation or communication with the child; OR
  • ERODED PARENT CHILD RELATIONSHIP CAUSED BY PARENT Parent’s abusive or neglectful conduct has caused, at least in part, an extreme and deep-seated antipathy by the child toward the parent, or some other substantial erosion of the relationship between the parent and the child; OR
  • ABUSE BY PARENT Parent has committed an abusive act for which reasonable efforts to maintain the children in the home would not be required under Section 43-21-602, or a series of physically, mentally, or emotionally abusive incidents, against the child or another c child, whether related by consanguinity or affinity or not, making future contacts between the parent and child undesirable; OR
  • CRIME AGAINST ANY CHILD Parent has been convicted of any of the following offenses against ANY child such as rape of a child, sexual battery of a child, touching a child for lustful purposes, exploitation of a child, felonious abuse or battery of a child, carnal knowledge of a step or adopted child or child of a cohabitating partner; OR
  • CRIME AGAINST PARENT’S CHILD Parent has been convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent, aiding, abetting, attempting, conspiring or soliciting to committing murder or voluntary manslaughter of the child or another child of the parent or felony assault that results in the serious bodily injury to the child or another child of the parent