TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS IN LIGHT OF ATTACHMENT THEORY: The Case of Kaylee

This consultation case, which took place in the State of New Jersey, consisted of a number of assessments of a "parafoster" (i.e., de facto foster care) child between the ages of 25 and 34 months in connection with permanency decisions. The child had been in parafoster care from age 1 month and had formed a profound attachment to her caretaker. She began to display distress and severe behavioral reactions immediately prior to and immediately following visits with her birth parents. In this case study, the question of permanency for this child is approached from the perspective of developmental theory regarding attachment, empirical studies of the effects of disturbed attachment, and the observed clinical data, as well as considerations involving the fitness of the birth parents. Overall, the case exemplifies how, when child protective systems place the child's needs first, there are often situations in which the child's best interests are served by a case goal of adoption by long-term caretakers, even though the birth parents may have been rehabilitated and may be caring successfully for 1 or more of the child's older or younger siblings.