## Facts

- Tiffany was born on September 5, 1990, to Patty (mother) and Allen (father), who were biological siblings.
- Evidence indicated Tiffany was at least the third suspected child resulting from Patty and Allen’s incestuous relationship.
- On March 31, 1994, Patty and Allen left Tiffany with a babysitter and could not be located; Tiffany became ill during their absence.
- Milwaukee County child-welfare authorities removed Tiffany and placed her in foster care.
- Trial evidence described Tiffany as having profound developmental and physical delays.
- Tiffany made measurable progress after placement in foster care, supporting a finding that neglect and environmental deprivation contributed to her condition.
- Tiffany was found not to be bonded to Patty.
- Allen was characterized as uncooperative with reunification services and case-plan efforts.
- Over approximately a year following removal, the parents failed to make sufficient progress toward conditions required for Tiffany’s return.
- In April 1996, the county filed a petition to terminate Patty’s and Allen’s parental rights, relying in part on a statutory ground permitting termination where a child is conceived as a result of incest.

## Issues

1. Whether Wisconsin’s statutory ground permitting termination of parental rights based on incestuous conception is constitutional under due process, equal protection, and privacy/procreation principles.
2. Whether the evidence supported applying the incest-based statutory ground and the trial court’s determination that termination was in Tiffany’s best interests.

## Decision

- The Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed the order terminating Patty’s and Allen’s parental rights.
- The court upheld the validity of the incest-based statutory ground as applied in this termination proceeding.
- The court concluded the statutory requirements were satisfied because Tiffany was conceived and born from a sexual relationship between biological siblings.
- The court sustained the dispositional determination that termination was in Tiffany’s best interests in light of the child’s needs, the lack of bonding, the parents’ conduct, and the child’s progress in foster care.

## Legal Principles

- A state may authorize termination of parental rights on the statutory ground that a child was conceived as a result of an incestuous relationship, subject to the procedures governing termination proceedings.
- Constitutional interests in family integrity and procreation do not bar a state from terminating parental rights when a statutory ground is proven and termination is found to serve the child’s best interests.
- Termination requires (1) proof of a statutory ground and (2) a separate best-interests determination at disposition.
- Evidence of neglect, lack of parent-child bonding, noncooperation with services, and a child’s improvement in foster care may support a best-interests finding favoring termination.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed termination of parental rights where the child was conceived through incest between biological siblings and the record supported that termination served the child’s best interests, rejecting constitutional challenges to the incest-based termination ground as applied in the proceeding.


In re Tiffany, 214 Wis. 2d 302, 571 N.W.2d 872 (Wis. Ct. App. 1997)