In Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745 (1982), the child was removed from the home of both parents (Santosky, supra, 455 U.S. at p. 751) The United States Supreme Court disapproved of a New York law that allowed termination of parental rights for " 'permanent neglect' " when the finding was supported by a "'fair preponderance of the evidence.'" (Santosky, supra, 455 U.S. at p. 747.) The court held the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment "requires that the State support its allegations by at least clear and convincing evidence." (Santosky, supra, at p. 748.) The court explained that "before a State may sever completely and irrevocably the rights of parents in their natural child, due process requires that the State support its allegations by at least clear and convincing evidence." (Id. at pp. 747-748.) "After the State has established parental unfitness at the initial proceeding, the court may assume at the dispositional state that the interests of the child and the natural parents do diverge." (Id. at p. 760.) "But until the State proves parental unfitness, the child and his parents share a vital interest in preventing erroneous termination of their natural relationship." (Ibid.) Santosky v. Kramer (1982) 455 U.S. 745, establishes minimal due process requirements in the context of state dependency proceedings. 'Before a State may sever completely and irrevocably the rights of parents in their natural child, due process requires that the State support its allegations by at least clear and convincing evidence.' (Id. at pp. 747-748.) 'After the State has established parental unfitness at that initial proceeding, the court may assume at the dispositional stage that the interests of the child and the natural parents do diverge.' (Id. at p. 760.) 'But until the State proves parental unfitness, the child and his parents share a vital interest in preventing erroneous termination of their natural relationship.' (Ibid.) In Santosky v. Kramer (1982) 455 U.S. 745, the Supreme Court held that due process requires proof by clear and convincing evidence in a proceeding to terminate parental rights. (Santosky v. Kramer, supra, 455 U.S. 745.) The court held that "when the State moves to destroy weakened familial bonds, it must provide the parents with fundamentally fair procedures." (Id. at pp. 753-754, ) The Supreme Court squarely held that in parental termination proceedings, due process requires that the burden of proof be at least clear and convincing evidence because the risk of error from using a preponderance standard is too great: Today we hold that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment demands more than this. Before a State may sever completely and irrevocably the rights of parents in their natural child, due process requires that the State support its allegations by at least clear and convincing evidence. In parental rights termination proceedings, the private interest affected is commanding; the risk of error from using a preponderance standard is substantial; and the countervailing governmental interest favoring that standard is comparatively slight. Evaluation of the three Eldridge factors (Mathews v. Eldridge) compels the conclusion that use of a "fair preponderance of the evidence" standard in such proceedings is inconsistent with due process. The Supreme Court of the United States held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution demands that before a State (specifically New York) may sever completely and irrevocably the rights of parents in their natural child, the State must support its determination to terminate such rights by "at least clear and convincing evidence." The Supreme Court recognized that New York bifurcates its permanent neglect termination of parental rights proceeding into "fact-finding" and "dispositional" hearings. It further recognized that termination denies the natural parent physical custody, as well as the rights to even visit, communicate with, or regain custody of the child. The Court noted: "The fundamental liberty interest of natural parents in the care, custody, and management of their child does not evaporate simply because they have not been model parents or have lost temporary custody of their child to the State. Even when blood relationships are strained, parents retain a vital interest in preventing the irretrievable destruction of their family life. If anything, persons faced with forced dissolution of their parental rights have a more critical need for procedural protections than do those resisting state intervention into ongoing family affairs. When the State moves to destroy weakened familial bonds, it must provide the parents with fundamentally fair procedures" (Santosky v. Kramer, supra at 753-754 ). It further observed: "The function of a standard of proof, as that concept is embodied in the Due Process Clause and in the realm of factfinding, is to instruct the factfinder concerning the degree of confidence our society thinks he should have in the correctness of factual conclusions for a particular type of adjudication" (Santosky v. Kramer, at 754-755). In unequivocal language of constitutional magnitude, the United States Supreme Court declared: "In parental rights termination proceedings, the private interest affected is commanding; the risk of error from using a preponderance standard is substantial; and the countervailing governmental interest favoring that standard is comparatively slight. Evaluation of the three Eldridge factors compels the conclusion that use of a 'fair preponderance of the evidence' standard in such proceedings is inconsistent with due process." (Santosky v. Kramer, supra at 758.) The Supreme Court held that New York's statutory scheme to terminate parental rights was flawed because due process required that the fact-finding determination be made by clear and convincing evidence, as opposed to a preponderance of the evidence standard. The majority decision, essentially parent-focused, held that the risk of fact-finding error should be distributed toward the Department of Social Services and away from the parents. In so holding, the decision assumes an alliance or unity of interest between the parents and the child. The minority, in finding that due process was served by a preponderance of the evidence standard, which allocated the risk of error evenly between the parents and the agency, left the children in a neutral position. "The child has an interest in the outcome of the fact-finding hearing independent of that of the parent ... The child's interest in a continuation of the family unit exists only to the extent that such a continuation would not be harmful to him." (Kramer at 790, n 13 Rehnquist, J., dissenting.)