## Facts

- In 1985, a juvenile court found the parents had abused and neglected their three children and awarded custody to the county department of social services (DSS).
- DSS filed foster care plans in 1987 recommending adoption as the goal and stating it intended to seek termination of the parents’ residual parental rights, but DSS did not file termination petitions.
- In 1988, the children’s guardian ad litem (GAL) filed petitions to terminate both parents’ residual parental rights under Virginia law.
- DSS later amended the foster care plan for one child to place the child in the physical custody of the maternal grandmother.
- The juvenile court terminated both parents’ residual parental rights to all three children; the mother appealed.
- The circuit court terminated the mother’s residual parental rights as to all three children.
- The court of appeals affirmed termination as to two children and reversed as to the child placed with the grandmother, and it permitted the GAL’s petitions to proceed.
- The state supreme court granted review limited to whether the GAL had standing to initiate termination petitions.

## Issues

1. Whether, under Virginia’s statutory scheme governing child protection and termination of parental rights, a child’s guardian ad litem has standing to petition to terminate the parents’ residual parental rights.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Virginia held that a child’s GAL has standing to file petitions to terminate residual parental rights.
- The court affirmed the court of appeals on the standing question.
- The court’s review did not reach, and therefore did not alter, the merits of termination as to any particular child because review was limited to standing.

## Legal Principles

- A guardian ad litem appointed to represent a child’s interests in abuse and neglect proceedings may take affirmative litigation steps, including initiating a petition to terminate parental rights, when authorized by the statutory scheme and necessary to protect the child’s interests.
- Virginia’s termination statute does not bar GAL-initiated petitions; the broader child-protection statutes contemplate meaningful participation by the child through the GAL in proceedings affecting the child’s welfare.
- DSS’s usual responsibility for foster care planning and pursuing termination does not preclude a GAL from invoking the court’s authority when DSS does not act.
- Allowing a GAL to file a termination petition triggers judicial proceedings; it does not itself terminate parental rights, and parents retain procedural protections (notice, opportunity to be heard, and proof of statutory grounds before termination).

## Conclusion

The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that a child’s guardian ad litem has statutory standing to petition for termination of parents’ residual parental rights, ensuring that a child’s interests can be presented to the court even if the social services agency does not initiate termination proceedings.


Stanley v. Fairfax Cnty. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 405 S.E.2d 621 (Va. 1991)