DMR.1.6.090 Disposition

(a) A court report must be prepared prior to all terminations of parental rights. If the petition has been filed by the Child Welfare Director or the Assistant Child Welfare Director, the Child Welfare Director or the Assistant Child Welfare Director shall prepare a report to the court including a complete social, adjudicatory, and dispositional history of the child and the parent, a statement of feasible alternative dispositions, if any, and a statement applying the standards and factors contained in Section DMR.1.6.090(b), below. The report shall be filed with the Court and served on the parties no fewer than 10 days before the dispositional hearing. The report shall include a description of efforts made to prevent removal of the child from the home and efforts made, if any, to return the child, and to remedy the conditions resulting in the termination proceeding. If the report recommends termination of both parents, or of the only living or known parent, the report shall include a statement of the child's likelihood of adoption, listing factors that might prevent adoption and factors that might facilitate it, and the interim plan and designated guardian recommended pending adoption or, if adoption is unlikely a plan for the continued care, custody, and guardianship of the child. The report shall also contain a medical and genetic history of the child and birth parents on a form as provided by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services. If the petition has been filed by anyone other than the Child Welfare Director or the Assistant Child Welfare Director, the petitioner shall request an order of the Court appointing either the Child Welfare Director or the Assistant Child Welfare Director or another child welfare agency to prepare a report, provided that the expense of any such report prepared by any agency other than the Tribe's Child Welfare Department shall be borne by the petitioner.

(b) Court considerations. In making a decision about the appropriate disposition, the Children's Court shall consider the standard and factors enumerated in this section.

(1) Standard. The best interests of the child shall be the prevailing factor considered by the Children's Court in determining the disposition of all termination of parental rights proceedings.

(2) Factors. In considering the best interests of the child under this subsection the Children's Court shall consider but not be limited to the following:

(A) The age and health of the child, both at the time of the disposition and, if applicable, at the time the child was removed from the home;

(B) The wishes of the child;

(D) Whether the child will be able to enter into a more stable and permanent family relationship as a result of the termination, taking into account the conditions of the child's current placement, the likelihood of future placements and the results of prior placements.

(c) Any party may present evidence relevant to disposition, and may propose alternative dispositions. The Children's Court shall order either disposition listed below no later than ten days after a hearing on disposition.

(d) Upon a finding that grounds exist for a termination of parental rights the Children's Court shall order one of the following dispositions.

(1) The Court may dismiss the petition.

(2) The Children's Court may order the termination of parental rights of one or both parents. If the rights of both parents or of the only living or known parent is terminated, the Court shall transfer guardianship of the child to the Child Welfare Director or the Assistant Child Welfare Director, the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services, a relative of the child with whom the child resides if the relative has filed a petition for adoption, or an individual who has been appointed guardian of the child by a Court of competent jurisdiction. The Court may also transfer custody of the child to one of the agencies listed above, or to a relative or other individual if the child has resided in the home of that individual for a meaningful period of time prior to the termination. The child may be placed with the guardian, with a relative, or foster home, or, if sixteen or older, may be allowed to live independently alone or with friends or relatives under such supervision as the Court deems appropriate.

(3) Termination of parental rights shall not affect a child's tribal enrollment or eligibility for tribal member benefits.

(4) Termination of parental rights shall not itself be grounds for prohibiting contact with the child by other relatives, and an order permitting such contact may be entered in the termination case, but any order permitting such contact shall be based on the protection of the best interests of the child.

(5) The Children's Court shall inform any parent whose rights have been terminated of the provisions of Wis. Stats. §§ 48.432 and 48.433 and of Section DMR.1.8.070(b) of this ordinance, relating to medical and identifying information.

(6) Any parents whose rights have been terminated shall have a continuing duty to inform the Children's Court of any information he or she receives regarding any medical or genetic condition that may affect the health or longevity of the child or the child's issue. The parent shall be informed of this duty by the Court.

(7) Any order under this subsection shall be reduced to writing and filed within thirty (30) days of its rendition.