Legal Question in Family Law in California
I would like to get some information on a question I have.
I need to know what or how a grandparent can get custody of her grandson when we know the parents abuse drugs
The parent lives at her mother�s home with the child. The drug use gets so bad at time we fear for the child, because
She will drive with child in the car and we feel we have no rights. Her mother has threatened to throw her daughter (age 31)out, but we fear for
Child. The mothers works part time and only has that income. There would be no stable home life if the child was to leave the grandmothers
Home. We do know the drug of choose is prescription drug soma or xanax, it�s so much that she can stand at times.
The father lives in Florida and is also a prescription drug abuser and is also unstable.
We want to stop this before the child gets taken away and put in the system due to the mother lack of judgment.
Please advise what we can be able to do and thank you for your time.
Sincerely a worried family friend
1 Answer from Attorneys
As a "worried family friend" you have the following choices: (1) report your concerns to the appropriate authorities or (2) not. You should express your concerns to your friend, the grandparent and encourage her to consult with a family law attorney as soon as possible. Having the child become part of the CPS system may not be such a bad thing as this may be a way that the grandparents are able to maintain custody of the child while forcing the young mother from the home and hopefully into a rehabilitation program. In California one option would be for the grandparents to apply for a guardianship of the child. If the mother has not been able to get herself in a position to regain custody of the child after two years, the grandparents may then move for termination of parental rights and adopt the child. One reason for getting information from a qualified social worker is that there are certain benefits to the caretaker relative that are only accessible if the child has been made a ward of the juvenile court.
Good luck with this and your concern for the child is to be commended.
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