The court has the following dispositional alternatives:

• DHS for adoption: vesting DHS with legal custody and guardianship to place the child for adoption;
• Parental custody:  if only one parent’s rights are terminated, the child may be placed with the other parent with or without protective supervision under necessary and appropriate conditions;
• Relative custody:  custody may be transferred to a relative or other suitable person with or without protective supervision under necessary and appropriate conditions. The request for relative placement must be made prior to the termination hearing. Relatives include the child’s grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters;
• DHS custody: custody may be transferred to DHS to place the child in a relative home, foster home, group care or other appropriate facility.

The court may be tempted to deny a termination, despite the criteria being proven, because the child is unlikely to be adopted. This deprives the child of any opportunity to be adopted. About ten percent of adoptions are later disrupted, but the rate of disruption for “permanent foster care” is fifty percent.