Family Law - Children in Need of Assistance and Termination of Parental Rights (Right to Fight Act)

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb0048*

HOUSE BILL 48
D4 6lr1406
HB 944/25 – JUD (PRE–FILED)
By: Delegate Toles
Requested: October 28, 2025
Introduced and read first time: January 14, 2026
Assigned to: Judiciary

A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerning 1

Family Law – Children in Need of Assistance and Termination of Parental 2
Rights 3
(Right to Fight Act) 4

FOR the purpose of repealing a provision that authorizes a local department of social 5
services to ask the juvenile court to find that reasonable efforts to reunify a child 6
with the child’s parent or guardian are not required if the local department concludes 7
that a parent or guardian has involuntarily lost parental rights to a sibling of the 8
child; repealing the authorization for a juvenile court to waive a local department’s 9
obligation to provide certain services if a parent has involuntarily lost certain 10
parental rights; and generally relating to the termination of parental rights. 11

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 12
Article – Courts and Judicial Proceedings 13
Section 3–812(b) 14
Annotated Code of Maryland 15
(2020 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 16

BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 17
Article – Family Law 18
Section 5–323(d) 19
Annotated Code of Maryland 20
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 21

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 22
Article – Family Law 23
Section 5–323(e) 24
Annotated Code of Maryland 25
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 26

2 HOUSE BILL 48

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 1
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 2

Article – Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3

3–812. 4

(b) In a petition under this subtitle, a local department may ask the court to find 5
that reasonable efforts to reunify a child with the child’s parent or guardian are not 6
required if the local department concludes that a parent or guardian: 7

(1) Has subjected the child to any of the following aggravated 8
circumstances: 9

(i) The parent or guardian has engaged in or facilitated: 10

1. Chronic or severe physical abuse of the child, a sibling of 11
the child, or another child in the household; 12

2. Chronic and life–threatening neglect of the child, a sibling 13
of the child, or another child in the household; 14

3. Sexual abuse of the child, a sibling of the child, or another 15
child in the household; or 16

4. Torture of the child, a sibling of the child, or another child 17
in the household; 18

(ii) The parent or guardian knowingly failed to take appropriate 19
steps to protect the child after a person in the household inflicted sexual abuse, severe 20
physical abuse, life –threatening neglect, or torture on the child or ano ther child in the 21
household; 22

(iii) The child, a sibling of the child, or another child in the household 23
has suffered severe physical abuse or death resulting from abuse by the parent or guardian 24
or another adult in the household and all persons who cou ld have inflicted the abuse or 25
caused the death remain in the household; or 26

(iv) The parent or guardian has abandoned the child; OR 27

(2) Has been convicted, in any state or any court of the United States, of: 28

(i) A crime of violence against: 29

1. A minor offspring of the parent or guardian; 30

2. The child; or 31
HOUSE BILL 48 3

3. Another parent or guardian of the child; or 1

(ii) Aiding or abetting, conspiring, or soliciting to commit a crime 2
described in item (i) of this item[; or 3

(3) Has involuntarily lost parental rights of a sibling of the child]. 4

Article – Family Law 5

5–323. 6

(d) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, in ruling on a petition for 7
guardianship of a child, a juvenile court shall give primary consideration to the health and 8
safety of the child and consideration to all other factors needed to determine whether 9
terminating a parent’s rights is in the child’s best interests, including: 10

(1) (i) all services offered to the parent before the child’s placement, 11
whether offered by a local department, another agency, or a professional; 12

(ii) the extent, nature, and timeliness of services offered by a local 13
department to facilitate reunion of the child and parent; and 14

(iii) the extent to which a local department and parent have fulfilled 15
their obligations under a social services agreement, if any; 16

(2) the results of the parent’s effort to adjust the parent’s circumstances, 17
condition, or conduct to make it in the child’s best interests for the child to be re turned to 18
the parent’s home, including: 19

(i) the extent to which the parent has maintained regular contact 20
with: 21

1. the child; 22

2. the local department to which the child is committed; and 23

3. if feasible, the child’s caregiver; 24

(ii) the parent’s contribution to a reasonable part of the child’s care 25
and support, if the parent is financially able to do so; 26

(iii) the existence of a parental disability that makes the parent 27
consistently unable to care for the child’s immediate and ongoing physical or psychological 28
needs for long periods of time; and 29

4 HOUSE BILL 48

(iv) whether additional services would be likely to bring about a 1
lasting parental adjustment so that the child could be returned to the parent within an 2
ascertainable time not to exceed 18 months from the date of placement unless the juvenile 3
court makes a specific finding that it is in the child’s best interests to extend the time for a 4
specified period; 5

(3) whether: 6

(i) the parent has abused or neglected the child or a minor an d the 7
seriousness of the abuse or neglect; 8

(ii) 1. A. on admission to a hospital for the child’s delivery, 9
the mother tested positive for a drug as evidenced by a positive toxicology test; or 10

B. upon the birth of the child, the child tested positi ve for a 11
drug as evidenced by a positive toxicology test; and 12

2. the mother refused the level of drug treatment 13
recommended by a qualified addictions specialist, as defined in § 5–1201 of this title, or by 14
a physician or psychologist, as defined in the Health Occupations Article; 15

(iii) the parent subjected the child to: 16

1. chronic abuse; 17

2. chronic and life–threatening neglect; 18

3. sexual abuse; or 19

4. torture; 20

(iv) the parent has been convicted, in any state or any court of the 21
United States, of: 22

1. a crime of violence against: 23

A. a minor offspring of the parent; 24

B. the child; or 25

C. another parent of the child; or 26

2. aiding or abetting, conspiring, or soliciting to commit a 27
crime described in item 1 of this item; and 28

(v) the parent has involuntarily lost parental rights to a sibling of 29
the child; and 30
HOUSE BILL 48 5

(4) (i) the child’s emotional ties with and feelings toward the child’s 1
parents, the child’s siblings, and others who may affect the child’s best i nterests 2
significantly; 3

(ii) the child’s adjustment to: 4

1. community; 5

2. home; 6

3. placement; and 7

4. school; 8

(iii) the child’s feelings about severance of the parent –child 9
relationship; and 10

(iv) the likely impact of terminating parental rights on the child’s 11
well–being. 12

(e) (1) A juvenile court shall consider the evidence under subsection (d)(3)(i) 13
and (ii) of this section as to a continuing or serious act or condition and may waive a local 14
department’s obligations for services described in subsection (d)(1) of this section if, after 15
appropriate evaluation of efforts made and services offered, the juvenile court finds by clear 16
and convincing evidence that a waiver is in the child’s best interests. 17

(2) A juvenile court may waive a local department’s obligations for services 18
described in subsection (d)(1) of this section if the juvenile court finds by clear and 19
convincing evidence that one or more of the acts or circumstances listed in subsection 20
(d)(3)(iii)[,] OR (iv)[, or (v)] of this section exists. 21

(3) If a juvenile court waives reunification efforts under § 3 –812(d) of the 22
Courts Article, the juvenile court may not consider any factor under subsection (d)(1) of this 23
section. 24

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENAC TED, That this Act shall take effect 25
October 1, 2026. 26