grandaughter being negelected

[chas1948]

My grandaughter is being neglected physically and emotionally by my daughter. The child (2 yrs) is subjected to horrendous living conditions and neglect. Whenever we (grandparents) confront the mother we are "punished" by not being allowed to see our grandaughter. I need to know where I can turn for help. I need help (counseling for the mother) but possibly need to get custody of the child so we can raise her. The child's father is of no help, being hospitalized, divorced, and has no interest. We reside in Indiana.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

As much of a "hard pill" this matter is for you to swallow, unless the child's life is in danger, there's really nothing you can do except to contact Child Protective Services. They will review and inspect the child's living conditions and make recommendations to the court.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, "Troxel vs. Granville" (2000), made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Grandparents and other "third parties" to exercise any rights against those of the parents. Unless the life of the child is in danger, this case left little, if anything, for Grandparents to do except to sit by and watch.

Good luck to you.

IAAL

 

[dorenephilpot]

You DO have an uphill battle, but if you can prove that the mother is unfit, you might have a go at custody.

But it's a VERY expensive fight, and the presumption is that the natural parents keep custody over all others, so your chances of winning are small.

If you had been a primary caretaker for the child in the past, you would have a much stronger case, however.