{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10a-10a-1-4-904","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 10A, § 10A-1-4-904","heading":"Termination of parental rights in certain situations","body":"A. A court shall not terminate the rights of a parent to a\n\nchild unless:\n\n1. The child has been adjudicated to be deprived either prior\n\nto or concurrently with a proceeding to terminate parental rights;\n\nand\n\n2. Termination of parental rights is in the best interests of\n\nthe child.\n\nB. The court may terminate the rights of a parent to a child\n\nbased upon the following legal grounds:\n\n1. Upon the duly acknowledged written consent of a parent, who\n\nvoluntarily agrees to termination of parental rights.\n\na. The voluntary consent for termination of parental\n\nrights shall be signed under oath and recorded before\n\na judge of a court of competent jurisdiction and\n\naccompanied by the judge’s certificate that the terms\n\nand consequences of the consent were fully explained\n\nin detail in English and were fully understood by the\n\nparent or that the consent was translated into a\n\nlanguage that the parent understood.\n\nb. A voluntary consent for termination of parental rights\n\nis effective when it is signed and may not be revoked\n\nexcept upon clear and convincing evidence that the\n\nconsent was executed by reason of fraud or duress.\n\nc. However, notwithstanding the provisions in this\n\nparagraph, in any proceeding for a voluntary\n\ntermination of parental rights to an Indian child, the\n\nconsent of the parent may be withdrawn for any reason\n\nat any time prior to the entry of a final decree of\n\ntermination. Any consent given prior to, or within\n\nten (10) days after, the birth of an Indian child\n\nshall not be valid;\n\n2. A finding that a parent who is entitled to custody of the\n\nchild has abandoned the child;\n\n3. A finding that the child is an abandoned infant;\n\n4. A finding that the parent of a child:\n\na. has voluntarily placed physical custody of the child\n\nwith the Department of Human Services or with a child-\n\nplacing agency for out-of-home placement,\n\nb. has not complied with the placement agreement, and\n\nc. has not demonstrated during such period a firm\n\nintention to resume physical custody of the child or\n\nto make permanent legal arrangements for the care of\n\nthe child;\n\n5. A finding that:\n\na. the parent has failed to correct the condition which\n\nled to the deprived adjudication of the child, and\n\nb. the parent has been given at least three (3) months to\n\ncorrect the condition;\n\n6. A finding that:\n\na. the rights of the parent to another child have been\n\nterminated, and\n\nb. the conditions that led to the prior termination of\n\nparental rights have not been corrected;\n\n7. A finding that a parent who does not have custody of the\n\nchild has, for at least six (6) out of the twelve (12) months\n\nimmediately preceding the filing of the petition or motion for\n\ntermination of parental rights, willfully failed or refused or has\n\nneglected to contribute to the support of the child:\n\na. as specified by an order entered by a court of\n\ncompetent jurisdiction adjudicating the duty, amount\n\nand manner of support, or\n\nb. where an order of child support does not exist,\n\naccording to the financial ability of the parent to\n\ncontribute to the child’s support.\n\nIncidental or token support shall not be construed or considered in\n\nestablishing whether a parent has maintained or contributed to the\n\nsupport of the child;\n\n8. A finding that the parent has been convicted in a court of\n\ncompetent jurisdiction in any state of any of the following acts:\n\na. permitting a child to participate in child sexual\n\nabuse material,\n\nb. rape, or rape by instrumentation,\n\nc. lewd molestation of a child under sixteen (16) years\n\nof age,\n\nd. child abuse or neglect,\n\ne. enabling child abuse or neglect,\n\nf. causing the death of a child as a result of the\n\nphysical or sexual abuse or chronic abuse or chronic\n\nneglect of the child,\n\ng. causing the death of a sibling of the child as a\n\nresult of the physical or sexual abuse or chronic\n\nabuse or chronic neglect of the child’s sibling,\nstation of a child under sixteen (16) years\n\nof age,\n\nd. child abuse or neglect,\n\ne. enabling child abuse or neglect,\n\nf. causing the death of a child as a result of the\n\nphysical or sexual abuse or chronic abuse or chronic\n\nneglect of the child,\n\ng. causing the death of a sibling of the child as a\n\nresult of the physical or sexual abuse or chronic\n\nabuse or chronic neglect of the child’s sibling,\n\nh. murder of any child or aiding or abetting, attempting,\n\nconspiring, or soliciting to commit murder of any\n\nchild,\n\ni. voluntary manslaughter of any child,\n\nj. a felony assault that has resulted in serious bodily\n\ninjury to the child or another child of the parents,\n\nor\n\nk. murder or voluntary manslaughter of the child’s parent\n\nor aiding or abetting, attempting, conspiring, or\n\nsoliciting to commit murder of the child’s parent;\n\n9. A finding that the parent has abused or neglected any child\n\nor failed to protect any child from abuse or neglect that is heinous\n\nor shocking;\n\n10. A finding that the parent has previously abused or\n\nneglected the child or a sibling of the child or failed to protect\n\nthe child or a sibling of the child from abuse or neglect and the\n\nchild or a sibling of the child has been subjected to subsequent\n\nabuse;\n\n11. A finding that the child was conceived as a result of rape\n\nperpetrated by the parent whose rights are sought to be terminated;\n\n12. A finding that the parent whose rights are sought to be\n\nterminated is incarcerated, and the continuation of parental rights\n\nwould result in harm to the child based on consideration of the\n\nfollowing factors, among others:\n\na. the duration of incarceration and its detrimental\n\neffect on the parent/child relationship,\n\nb. any previous convictions resulting in involuntary\n\nconfinement in a secure facility,\n\nc. the parent’s history of criminal behavior, including\n\ncrimes against children,\n\nd. the age of the child,\n\ne. any evidence of abuse or neglect or failure to protect\n\nfrom abuse or neglect of the child or siblings of the\n\nchild by the parent,\n\nf. the current relationship between the parent and the\n\nchild, and\n\ng. the manner in which the parent has exercised parental\n\nrights and duties in the past.\n\nProvided, that the incarceration of a parent shall not in and of\n\nitself be sufficient to deprive a parent of parental rights;\n\n13. A finding that all of the following exist:\n\na. the parent has a diagnosed cognitive disorder, an\n\nextreme physical incapacity, or a medical condition,\n\nincluding behavioral health, which renders the parent\n\nincapable of adequately and appropriately exercising\n\nparental rights, duties, and responsibilities within a\n\nreasonable time considering the age of the child, and\n\nb. allowing the parent to have custody would cause the\n\nchild actual harm or harm in the near future.\n\nA parent’s refusal or pattern of noncompliance with treatment,\n\ntherapy, medication, or assistance from outside the home can be used\n\nas evidence that the parent is incapable of adequately and\n\nappropriately exercising parental rights, duties, and\n\nresponsibilities.\n\nA finding that a parent has a diagnosed cognitive disorder, an\n\nextreme physical incapacity, or a medical condition, including\n\nbehavioral health or substance dependency, shall not in and of\n\nitself deprive the parent of parental rights;\n\n14. A finding that:\n\na. the condition that led to the deprived adjudication\n\nhas been the subject of a previous deprived\n\nadjudication of this child or a sibling of this child,\n\nand\n\nb. the parent has been given an opportunity to correct\n\nthe conditions which led to the determination of the\n\ninitial deprived child;\n\n15. A finding that there exists a substantial erosion of the\n\nrelationship between the parent and child caused at least in part by\n\nthe parent’s serious or aggravated neglect of the child, physical or\ned\n\nadjudication of this child or a sibling of this child,\n\nand\n\nb. the parent has been given an opportunity to correct\n\nthe conditions which led to the determination of the\n\ninitial deprived child;\n\n15. A finding that there exists a substantial erosion of the\n\nrelationship between the parent and child caused at least in part by\n\nthe parent’s serious or aggravated neglect of the child, physical or\n\nsexual abuse or exploitation of the child, a prolonged and\n\nunreasonable absence of the parent from the child or an unreasonable\n\nfailure by the parent to visit or communicate in a meaningful way\n\nwith the child;\n\n16. A finding that a child has been in foster care for not less\n\nthan fifteen (15) months of the most recent twenty-two (22) months\n\nand that the parent has not corrected the circumstances which led\n\nthe child to be adjudicated to be a deprived child, unless:\n\na. a parent has made substantial progress toward\n\neliminating the problem that caused the child’s\n\nplacement in foster care, it is likely that the child\n\nwill be able to safely return to the parent’s home\n\nwithin ninety (90) days, and the child’s return to the\n\nparent’s home will be in the child’s best interests,\n\nb. the child has a close and positive relationship with a\n\nparent and a permanent plan that does not include\n\ntermination of parental rights will provide the most\n\nsecure and appropriate placement for the child,\n\nc. the child is twelve (12) years of age or older, is\n\nfirmly opposed to termination of parental rights, and\n\nis likely to disrupt an attempt to place the child\n\nwith an adoptive family,\n\nd. a parent is terminally ill but in remission, does not\n\nwant parental rights to be terminated, and has\n\ndesignated a guardian for the child,\n\ne. the child is not capable of functioning if placed in a\n\nfamily setting. In such a case, the court shall\n\nreevaluate the status of the child every ninety (90)\n\ndays unless there is a court determination that the\n\nchild cannot be placed in a family setting,\n\nf. the child is an unaccompanied, refugee minor and the\n\ncase involves international legal issues or compelling\n\nforeign policy issues,\n\ng. adoption is not an appropriate plan for the child,\n\nh. the parent’s incarceration constitutes the primary\n\nfactor in the child’s placement in substitute care and\n\ntermination of parental rights is not in the child’s\n\nbest interest, or\n\ni. the parent’s participation in a court-ordered\n\nresidential substance abuse treatment program\n\nconstitutes the primary factor in the child’s\n\nplacement in substitute care and termination of\n\nparental rights is not in the child’s best interest.\n\nFor purposes of this paragraph, a child shall be considered to\n\nhave entered foster care on the earlier of the adjudication date, or\n\nthe date that is sixty (60) days after the date on which the child\n\nis removed from the home.\n\nThe court may also consider circumstances of the failure of the\n\nparent to develop and maintain a parental bond with the child in a\n\nmeaningful, supportive manner, and whether allowing the parent to\n\nhave custody would likely cause the child actual serious\n\npsychological harm or harm in the near future as a result of the\n\nremoval of the child from the substitute caregiver due to the\n\nexistence of a strong and positive bond between the child and\n\ncaregiver; and\n\n17. A finding that a child younger than four (4) years of age\n\nat the time of placement has been placed in foster care by the\n\nDepartment of Human Services for at least six (6) of the twelve (12)\n\nmonths preceding the filing of the petition or motion for\n\ntermination of parental rights and the child cannot be safely\n\nreturned to the home of the parent.\n\na. For purposes of this paragraph, a child shall be\n\nconsidered to have entered foster care on the earlier\n\nof:\n\n(1) the adjudication date, or\nlaced in foster care by the\n\nDepartment of Human Services for at least six (6) of the twelve (12)\n\nmonths preceding the filing of the petition or motion for\n\ntermination of parental rights and the child cannot be safely\n\nreturned to the home of the parent.\n\na. For purposes of this paragraph, a child shall be\n\nconsidered to have entered foster care on the earlier\n\nof:\n\n(1) the adjudication date, or\n\n(2) the date that is sixty (60) days after the date\n\non which the child is removed from the home.\n\nb. For purposes of this paragraph, the court may\n\nconsider:\n\n(1) circumstances of the failure of the parent to\n\ndevelop and maintain a parental bond with the\n\nchild in a meaningful, supportive manner, and\n\n(2) whether allowing the parent to have custody would\n\nlikely cause the child actual serious\n\npsychological harm or harm in the near future as\n\na result of the removal of the child from the\n\nsubstitute caregiver due to the existence of a\n\nstrong, positive bond between the child and\n\ncaregiver.\n\nC. An order directing the termination of parental rights is a\n\nfinal appealable order.\n\nD. The provisions of this section shall not apply to adoption\n\nproceedings and actions to terminate parental rights which do not\n\ninvolve a petition for deprived status of the child. Such\n\nproceedings and actions shall be governed by the Oklahoma Adoption\n\nCode.","path":["OK Code","Title 10A"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os10A.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"3b6309bf09add862befd46815ce25849b56b8984a936e1dfd3c496c75539245c","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10a-10a-1-4-903","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10a-10a-1-4-905"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}