Legal Question in Family Law in California

Possible Child Neglect

My husband's ex has her mentally disabled relative baby sit his 8 yr old son when he is visiting with his mother and she has to work. The mother works in retail, which usually includes some nights & Saturday. My husband has expressed his concerns that the cousin is not capable of caring for his son but the mother ignores him. Is there any way we can get the authorities to ''check on'' the child when we suspect that he is alone with the cousin.

A few weeks back, my stepson had the toenails on both of his big toes fall off. He told us that he and the cousin were dropped off at a roller skating rink while the mother went to work. The cousin got skates that were too tight for my stepson and when he told her that they were to tight, she didn't have the common sense to get larger skates. The result was both toes were injured to the point that the toenails died and fell off. While this was happening my stepson would come home from a visit with his mother with scotch tape wrapped around his toe to hold the nail in place. Can leaving the child with a mentally disabled person be viewed upon as child neglect? Should we get CPS involved?


Asked on 5/02/03, 10:54 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
E. Daniel Bors Jr. Attorney & Counselor At Law

Re: Possible Child Neglect

Dear Inquirer:

Nothing herein shall create an attorney-client relationship, unless a written retainer agreement is executed by the attorney and client. This communication contains general information only. Nothing herein shall constitute an attorney-client communication nor legal advice. There likely are deadlines and time-limits associated with your case; you should contact an attorney of your choice for legal advice specific to your personal situation, at once.

If you haven't already done so, please visit my

web site at --

http://www.CaliforniaDivorceAttorney.com

The site contains quite a bit of general information about California Family Law, Tenants' Rights, and Juvenile Dependencies, as well as information about me (education, experience, et cetera) and my office (location, hours, fees, policies).

NOW, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR INQUIRY --

Your husband needs to go to the Family Law Court and have the custody and visitation order modified to account for this situation.

Thanks for sharing your interesting inquiry with us on LawGuru, and good luck with your case.

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Answered on 5/13/03, 12:47 am
Lyle Johnson Bedi and Johnson Attorneys at Law

Re: Possible Child Neglect

There is a wide range degree in mental disease. You gave no indication as to the degree of her mental disease. Did you take the child to a doctor regarding the injury to the toes? You should probably consider filing a motion with to the court requesting a court order that the child shall not be left in the care of this relative again.

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Answered on 5/05/03, 1:45 am


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