The issue of parents retaining the legal right before TPR to have their children baptized in the faith of their choice led me to research various state DHS policies on the Internet.
I was able to find Illinois' official guidelines on the subject.
Quote:
Rights of Birth Parents
Parent/s retain some rights and responsibilities if their rights have not been legally terminated by the
court, even if their child/ren are in foster care. Parent/s have the right to:
• Support the child
• Reasonable visitation
• Consent to the child’s adoption
• Determine the child’s religious affiliation (including the right to allow baptism)
• Know information about the child
• Participate in making decisions about the child
• Correct conditions that led to the child’s placement in foster care and regain custody of their child
Permanency Through Teamwork, Section 3, Page 14, ©2002 Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
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The link is
http://www.state.il.us/DCFS/docs/fpChapter3.pdf for the PDF file.
I haven't looked at the other state sites yet...Illnois was just the first one I got back on Google.