What are the laws about abandonment in Arkansas? My children's biological father hasn't had any contact with them in over a year(January 9, 2006 was last date of contact). He has never paid child support, EVER. My husband wants to adopt my two kids, he's the only father my daughter knows, and my son only vaguely remembers his biological father. So to them my husband is daddy. What do I need to do to get it so my husband can adopt my children? Do I need to get it established that their biological has abandoned them first then procede with adoption or can I just procede with adoption and wait to see if he contest it? I don't know how to contact him so I wouldn't know where to send any paper work to? Need help if you can offer advise!?!:confused:

You need to get some consults by local attorney's but most of the time the adoption is filed, on the grounds of no contact, the biological parent is served these papers and given the opportunity to contest... it is then up to them to prove they have not abandoned the child... but even in cases where they have abandoned the child if the biological parent contests it's difficult to have the TPR granted.

you will have to have him served with papers to terminate. If you cannot find him, you can petition the courts to allow you to serve by publication where you publish an ad in the paper of the places he has been known to live. You then wait to see if he contests it or not. A lot of times if they contest, a judge will give them another chance.

Statutes:
Website for Statutes:
http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/NXT/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=blr:code
Citations:
Adoption: Title 9, Subtitle 2, Chapter 9
Child Protection: Title 9, Subtitle 3, Chapter 30
Child Welfare: Title 9, Subtitle 2, Chapter 16; Subtitle 3, Chapters 27, 28, 29, 32, and 34


Regulation/Policy

Website for Administrative Code: http://www.sosweb.state.ar.us/admin_rules.html
Note: See 'Human Services, Department of'


Circumstances That Are Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights
� 9-27-341


The parent has abandoned the child.
The parent is unable to discharge his or her parental duties due to:
Emotional illness, mental illness, or mental deficiency
A conviction and incarceration for a felony
The parent has neglected or willfully abused the child.
The parent�s conduct or neglect has resulted in serious physical or emotional injury to the child.
The child has been out of the parent�s custody for 12 months, and reasonable efforts to rehabilitate the parent have failed.
The parent has been convicted of:
Murder or voluntary manslaughter of any child
Aiding, abetting, attempting, or soliciting to commit murder or voluntary manslaughter of any child
A felony battery or assault that results in serious bodily injury to any child
The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances, which can mean:
The child has been abandoned, chronically abused, subjected to extreme or repeated cruelty, or sexually abused.
A judge has determined that there is little likelihood that services to the family will result in successful reunification.
The child has been removed from the custody of the parent more than three times in the last 15 months.
The parent has willfully failed to provide significant material support in accordance with the parent�s means.
The parent has failed to maintain meaningful contact with the child.
A presumptive legal father is not the biological father of the child.
Parental rights to another child of the parent have been terminated involuntarily.



Who Must Consent to an Adoption
Citation: � 9-9-206


The mother
The father, if married to the mother or otherwise has established paternity
Any person or agency lawfully entitled to custody
The court
The spouse of the minor to be adopted



Age When Consent of Adoptee is Considered or Required
Citation: � 9-9-206

A child 10 years of age or older must consent to the adoption, unless the court in the child's best interest dispenses with consent.



When Parental Consent is not Needed
Citation: � 9-9-207

A parent has:

Deserted the child
Failed to communicate or provide for the care or support of the child for at least 1 year
Relinquished rights or had them terminated
Been declared incompetent
The person to be adopted is an adult.
A legal guardian fails to respond to a request for consent for 60 days, or has been found to be withholding consent unreasonably.



Who May Adopt
Citation: Ann. Code � 9-9-204
The following persons may adopt:

A husband and wife together, although one or both are minors
An unmarried adult
The unmarried parent of the person to be adopted
A married individual without the spouse if:
The other spouse is a parent of the individual to be adopted and consents to the adoption.
The petitioner and the other spouse are legally separated.
The failure of the other spouse to join in the petition or to consent to the adoption is excused by the court by reason of prolonged unexplained absence, unavailability, incapacity, or circumstances constituting an unreasonable withholding of consent.



Who May Be AdoptedCitation: Ann. Code � 9-9-203

Any individual may be adopted.



Who May Place a Child for Adoption
Citation: Ann. Code �� 9-2-202; 9-9-206
The following persons may place a child for adoption:

The parent of the child
Any person lawfully entitled to custody of the child or empowered to consent
An agency that has been licensed to place minors for adoption



AbandonmentCitation: � 12-12-503

Abandonment means:
1. Failure of the parent to provide reasonable support and to maintain regular contact with the juvenile through statement or contact, when the failure is accompanied by an intention on the part of the parent to permit the condition to continue for an indefinite period in the future
2. Failure to support or maintain regular contact with the juvenile without just cause
3. An articulated intent to forego parental responsibility