CBA Record Nov-Dec 2019

is “unfit” for parenting. The court is called upon to apply the factors in the Adoption Act. The evidence is presented by the state’s attorney, the child’s guard- ian ad litem, and the parent’s attorney; it includes testimony from medical experts, caseworkers, and sometimes informed opinions from Court Appointed Special Advocates (the CASA). “At the end of the day, I needed to serve the best interest of the child,” Judge McGrath says. Easier said than done. One case stands out as particularly tough. Judge McGrath sees the young family: “A mom and five-year-old twins. They loved each other. And they were fully bonded.” No physical abuse. No substance abuse. No abandonment. No neglect. Nothing the mom did wrong. Nor was there any destructive mental illness that threatened the twins’ lives. So what was the problem? The mother had an “intellectual disabil- ity.” Under the statute, parental rights may be terminated if the parent will be unable to “discharge parental responsibilities” for a “reasonable time period” due to an “intel- lectual disability.” 750 ILCS 50/1(p). An intellectual disability, in turn, is defined as a “significantly subaverage general intellec- tual functioning which exists concurrently with impairment in an adaptive manner and which originates before the age of 18 years.” 405 ILCS 5/1-116. Losing Sleep…But Focusing on the Future More likely than not, there was someone helping the mom out who was no longer in the picture. But still, imagine telling a mother that, despite five years of being a mother, she is no longer “Mom” because she was not born smart enough. “I lost sleep over it,” Judge McGrath recalls. Judge McGrath still feels the severity of the decision. “The mom’s name is taken off the birth certificate. She no longer has parental rights. She will no longer know her twins. And they will no longer know their mom.” Fewer decisions can have a greater impact on human lives. Asked how she was able to decide what to do given the gravity of the situation, Judge McGrath answers, “You follow the law and examine the evidence,” with a

focus on the child. It included medical evidence concerning the intellectual dis- ability and testimony from case workers and others experienced in the field. Was it a healthy environment to this point? It seemed so. They looked and acted like a family. But the decision is not based on the past or present. It focuses on the future. “What is in the best interests of the child, not just now, but down the road?,” Judge McGrath said. And the answer is to ter- minate parental rights and find a suitable, permanent situation for the children. The family was physically separated just outside the courtroom. The “mom cried. The twins screamed,” Judge McGrath re- members. Imagine the fear and confusion. In this case, unlike most, there was a silver lining. After the termination pro- ceeding, the children were placed with adoptive parents. They graciously agreed that the birth mother could remain involved in the twins’ lives. This result was not the product of the law. It was the product of the creativity and hard work of the birth mother’s attorney. Her name is not revealed in this article to protect the anonymity of all involved, but “she went above and beyond,” Judge McGrath says.

Law v. Compassion: Judge Brigid Mary McGrath What happens when a judge is assigned to a litany of emotionally grueling cases? Retired Circuit Court Judge Brigid Mary McGrath, now a mediator with ADR Systems, can tell you. Early in her judicial career, she was as- signed to the Child Protection Division. It sits in the Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Department. Among other issues, she handled the involuntary and permanent termination of parental rights under the Adoption Act. “Tell her she is no longer ‘Mom,’ your honor.” This division could easily be called the “Tough Cases Calendar.” The “easiest” cases to decide were the ones where the mother or father sold a child ‒ a child ‒ into prostitution. The evidence was gut-wrenching but straight- forward. And the law was straightforward. No question, the child would be better off elsewhere. Slightly harder were cases in which the mother or father had abandoned the child for months on end. No “parent” does that. Run-of-the-mill cases were those in which addiction prevented the parent from safely raising the child. Tough cases in terms of the law and compassion oc- curred when maybe Mom or Dad will beat the addiction. Maybe not. Judge McGrath had to make the best decision she could. The process and standard are straight- forward. The state requests termination of parental rights because the individual

NEED MEETING SPACE? The CBA has a variety of meeting rooms and can provide catering and audio/ visual services for client conferences, firmmeetings, social gatherings etc. Call MicheleSpodarek,CBAConferenceCenter Manager at 312/554-2124 for details.

24 November/December 2019