Imagining a Future Without Termination of Parental Rights

In this week's journal episode, I wanted to return to the conversation about Termination of Parent Rights. I've been surprised by the number of conversations that are happening around TPR in recent months, more than any time in my career, including national working groups. While we have a long way to go in terms of making significant strides, it seems as though we are normalizing the conversation about a world without TPR. So, I wanted to come back to the thought experiment of, "what if TPR no longer existed?" 

I also reference a future episode that we are developing that will likely touch on a particular policy in Washginton state that was passed in 2022, which requires the state to rule out guardianship before proceeding with adoption and TPR.

Can you read the bill language here. 1747-S HBR FBR 22 (wa.gov) 

The journal prompt this week is...in ten years, TPR will no longer exist, what will need to change between now and then to be prepared for a world without TPR? This is a creative constraint to help us imagine the future we want to see rather than how we want to change the current structures of the system. 

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