Intellectually disabled Minnesota dad's parental rights restored

Some readers may not be aware that there are two types of child custody in Minnesota: physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody refers to time the child spends living with a parent. In other words, the type of child custody that most people think of.

However, having legal custody of your child may be just as important as having physical custody or visitation time. Legal custody refers to the right to make important child-rearing decisions, such as what school the child will attend and what religion he or she will be raised in, if any. These decisions are often made with the other parent, no matter which parent has majority custody.

Recently, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that a man with an intellectual disability should not have his parental rights terminated solely on the basis of that fact. The ruling could lead to the restoration of visitation time between the man and his young daughter.

The man’s IQ has been measured at around 73. His attorney believes that figure is too low, noting that his client runs a sandwich shop unsupervised and is financially independent. He had a child with a woman, who appears to have had custody of the girl until authorities put her in foster care, due to neglect.

The father pursued visitation time, which was granted in late 2012. As part of the case plan, the man underwent parenting classes and had weekly supervised visits with his daughter.

However, last year authorities in Becker County, where the father lives, sought to terminate his parental rights. They said that because a psychologist who evaluated the father said “he can’t parent 24/7,” that he is not entitled to any sort of relationship with his daughter whatsoever.

The county’s contention that the man was unfit to have even limited visitation with his daughter was based primarily on his disability. In the case, it argued that it could cause him to use bad judgment in an emergency, and that his daughter could surpass him intellectually someday.

But in its decision, the Appeals Court said there is no precedent in Minnesota for terminating parental rights solely because of an intellectual disability. The judges found no evidence that the father’s condition had actually put the daughter at risk, and found that the county child protective services had failed to make reasonable efforts to preserve his parental rights.

Though this man may not have full custody of his daughter, the decision restores at least some of his parental rights. Whether legal custody is part of that is not clear.

Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune, “Mental impairment isn’t grounds to end parental rights, Minnesota Court of Appeals says,” David Chanen, April 21, 2014