In re Peyton B
Key Takeaways
- 1 Trial court's unfitness findings affirmed where father had nine felonies within five years, triggering depravity presumption he failed to rebut.
- 2 Termination in child's best interest affirmed based on child's attachment to foster parents, desire for adoption, and safety in foster home.
- 3 Relevant for family law practitioners handling parental rights terminations, particularly cases involving incarcerated parents with criminal histories.
Summary
Joshua B. appealed the termination of his parental rights to his minor daughter, Peyton B., following a September 2025 trial court order finding him unfit on two statutory grounds. The Fifth District Appellate Court affirmed the termination in its entirety.
The trial court found Father unfit under two provisions of the Illinois Parentage Act: (1) depravity under 750 ILCS 50/1(D)(i), based on nine felony convictions all entered within five years of the termination petition, and (2) inability to discharge parental responsibilities under 750 ILCS 50/1(D)(s), based on repeated incarceration preventing him from providing financial, physical, and emotional support. The appellate court applied great deference to the trial court's findings, reversing only if against the manifest weight of the evidence. The court found Father's nine felonies triggered a rebuttable presumption of depravity that he failed to overcome with evidence of rehabilitation or safe parenting ability while incarcerated.
On the best-interest prong, the court affirmed termination based on the minor's physical safety in foster care, her attachment to and desire to be adopted by her foster parents, DCFS caseworkers' satisfaction with the foster family's care, and the foster parents' willingness to maintain the child's relationships with her biological father and sister. The court also rejected Father's ineffective assistance of counsel claim, finding his trial counsel effectively cross-examined witnesses and that overwhelming evidence supported the trial court's findings regardless.
Key Holdings
1. A parent's nine felony convictions all within five years of a termination petition establish a rebuttable presumption of depravity under 750 ILCS 50/1(D)(i); the presumption is not rebutted where the parent presents no evidence of rehabilitation or safe parenting ability while incarcerated.
2. Repeated incarceration preventing a parent from discharging parental responsibilities satisfies 750 ILCS 50/1(D)(s) unfitness grounds, particularly where a grandparent became legal guardian due to the parent's incarceration shortly after the child's birth.
3. Termination of parental rights is in a child's best interest where the child is physically safe in foster care, attached to foster parents who wish to adopt her, the child desires adoption, and foster parents are willing to facilitate relationships with biological family members.
4. In parental termination proceedings, ineffective assistance of counsel claims are evaluated under the Strickland v. Washington two-prong test; no prejudice exists where overwhelming evidence supports the trial court's findings regardless of counsel's performance.