Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania

Re: Abandonment of a child

In a custody action, the standard for awarding custody is "the best interests of the child". A parent or other person with interest can file a complaint in Custody at any time. Custody can be awarded on a showing that the best interests of the child would be served by the change in custodial parent without a specific allegations of "grounds". Therefore, while factual allegations of abandonment might be made, there are no specific time spans required to be shown other than that the current situation is not in the child's best interests.

I believe that the inquiry may relate to what in Pennsylvania is known as a Dependency action (under the Juvenile Act). This is not the same as a custody action but, rather, a court determination of dependency as a result of clear necessity caused by the child being currently without propr parental care or control. This action is necessary for transfer to foster care and is sometimes used for transfer between parents because of the tretment benefits under Child Protective Services which may be required for the child and family in the specific situation.