Senate Bill 2824 - Mississippi Termination of Parental Rights Law

• Comprehensively rewrites Mississippi's termination of parental rights statute by repealing and replacing Sections 93-15-103 through 93-15-111 with new provisions establishing procedures, definitions, jurisdiction, and grounds for termination.

• Establishes three pathways for termination: voluntary written release by parent, involuntary termination with mandatory reunification efforts (requiring clear and convincing evidence after 6 months in Department of Human Services custody), and involuntary termination without reunification efforts (after 60 days in custody).

• Defines specific grounds for involuntary termination including abandonment (6 months no contact for children under 3, one year for older children), desertion, unfitness, parental convictions for serious crimes against children (rape, sexual battery, exploitation, felonious abuse), and other factors such as untreated substance abuse or medically diagnosed mental illness.

• Grants courts discretion to decline termination if child's safety is not compromised and termination is not in best interests, including when child is with other parent or relative, or when reunification efforts are likely to succeed.

• Requires compliance with Indian Child Welfare Act, mandates guardian ad litem representation for child, provides due process protections including right to counsel and appeal to Mississippi Supreme Court, and treats cases involving sexual abuse or serious bodily injury as preference cases.