Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ) coordinates the statewide Legal Services system in New Jersey, providing free legal assistance to low-income people in civil matters. Part of Legal Services’ mission is to make people more aware of their legal rights and provide helpful information if they choose to pursue a legal case on their own. Awareness may help you resolve some problems on your own, without the need for a lawyer, or make better use of a lawyer if you have one.

LSNJ wrote this handbook to help parents when the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) takes legal action to terminate (end) their rights to their children. This handbook contains information about the law and legal process that apply to you as a defendant parent being sued by DYFS in a termination of parental rights case. If DYFS is trying to end your parental rights to your child, reading and becoming familiar with the information discussed in this handbook may be useful to you. In addition, you may use the handbook as a reference, by finding specific topics and searching the glossary for a definition of terms mentioned here.

Every termination of parental rights case is different

Every termination of parental rights case is different. Each case involves specific, individual circumstances. The facts of your case may not match the situation the handbook assumes. For example, the handbook is written as if your termination of parental rights case concerns only one child, although DYFS often seeks to terminate parental rights to more than one child in the same case. For the most part, the handbook is written as if you were the custodial parent of the child (the parent who lives with the child most of the time), although that may not be your situation. DYFS routinely names both parents, including non-custodial parents or parents who have never lived with their children, as defendants in termination of parental rights cases.

Legal Services Family Representation Project

Through the statewide Family Representation Project (FRP), Legal Services of New Jersey lawyers who are specialists in child welfare law provide advice and sometimes extended representation to low-income parents in matters involving DYFS. If you would like to apply to get advice or to have a Legal Services lawyer represent you, call LSNJ-LAW™, Legal Services of New Jersey’s statewide, toll-free legal hotline, at 1-888-LSNJ-LAW (1-888-576-5529). Hotline hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. If you are not eligible for assistance from Legal Services, the hotline will refer you to other possible resources.

Acknowledgments

This edition of the handbook was written by Mary M. McManus-Smith, LSNJ senior attorney, and Diana Dunker, LSNJ supervising attorney. It is based on an earlier edition written by former LSNJ attorneys Beatrix W. Shear and Nancy Goldhill. Susan Perger, LSNJ director of technology and publications, was responsible for editing, design, layout, and production. Special thanks to the following people for their assistance with this handbook: T. Gary Mitchell, director of litigation at the Office of Parental Representation; Deborah Fennelly, LSNJ senior attorney; Tom Makin, LSNJ director of development and communications; and Tricia Simpson-Curtin, LSNJ writer/editor.

Comments and suggestions

We hope that this handbook will be helpful to you. Please let us know if you have comments or suggestions that we might use in future editions. You can write to us or e-mail us at:

Legal Services of New Jersey
P.O. Box 1357
Edison, NJ 08818-1357