custody & drug use

[hagatha]

Soc,

State is PA, philadelphia county

Parents not married. No visitation orders yet although parents are following the standard EOW plan. Child is 3 yrs old.

Father is recovering adict and has been clean & sober for more than 6 mths. Mother still active adict.

When returning child to mothers residence father finds her intoxicated or otherwise incapasitated. Father must stay at mothers residence until child is in bed and completely asleep as mother is not capable of caring for child. Drug use is apparent as mother leaves pot/papers and/or white powder etc in living room. Father is very afraid of kidnapping charge if child is not returned Sunday night.

Father has conviction of assult and drug charge from last yr. (assult charge was from bar fight, mother was not involved)

1. Can father refuse to leave child with mother if he finds her drunk or high? and if so do you recommend a police report be made?

2. Would you recomend getting welfare checks for child during the week also?

3. Should father file ex-parte after the next incident or wait till he can show a pattern of drug use?

4. Given fathers past record of assult and drug use, would it be better for grandparents to file for custody?




Remember . . . KARMA is a Wonderful Thing!!!!!

[socrateaser]

>1. Can father refuse to leave child with mother if he finds
>her drunk or high? and if so do you recommend a police report
>be made?

Father could call child protective services, or whatever the agency is called in PA. They would show up and investigate, and probably put the child in foster care. After which, father could petition for primary custody.

Or, father could have a private investigator take photos and a report of the scene, then father could take the child and immediately (and I emphasize immediately, as the next court day) file an emergency ex parte motion for temporary custody along with a petition for custody and support, on grounds that the mother was incompetent to care for the child, and then have the PI testify and show photos, etc., to back up the father's claim.

Otherwise, father could be looking at a kidnapping charge, because father has no legal rights to custody of the child.

>
>2. Would you recomend getting welfare checks for child during
>the week also?

I don't understand the question. Please rephrase.

>
>3. Should father file ex-parte after the next incident or wait
>till he can show a pattern of drug use?

See above.
>
>4. Given fathers past record of assult and drug use, would it
>be better for grandparents to file for custody?

Grandparents have no right to file for anything, unless they can prove that the child will suffer harm unless an existing relationship with the child will be severed as a consequence of mother's actions. So, here, there's no standing to file.

It's either call child protective services (i.e., the Sheriff), or bring a disinterested third party witness who can testify in family court for emergency custody accompanied by a petition for establishment of paternity, custody and support.

And, the second option, if not acted upon within several hours of taking the child, could get you a kidnapping arrest. Under the circumstances of the father already having a police blotter, I strongly suggest just calling child protective services and letting them put the child in foster care. Otherwise, the whole deal could backfire and I wouldn't want to be responsible for father getting arrested unnecessarily.