In re S.W.

The former foster parents of a child, S.W., sought to intervene in the termination of parental rights (TPR) proceedings of S.W.’s mother. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania upheld their ability to intervene as “prospective adoptive parents,”  a decision that S.W. and the Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) appealed to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Juvenile Law Center joined Community Legal Services of Philadelphia and law professor Sarah Katz in filing an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in support of S.W. and Allegheny County OCYF. The brief argued that foster parent intervention in dependency matters undermines children’s long-term well-being by delaying permanency and increasing the likelihood of TPR. The brief further highlighted the United States’ legacy of systematically devaluing and dismantling Black families and the disproportionate rates of family separation and TPR experienced by Black children to show that allowing prospective adoptive parent standing will perpetuate these deeply entrenched racial and class biases. Finally, the brief argued that allowing prospective adoptive parent intervention will lead to increased costs associated with prolonged litigation.