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And it seems to me that just because other kids are in worse situations than my child (drugs, abuse, etc.) doesn't give the courts the right to ignore the predicament that my child is in. Emotionally she has been abused and abandoned by her dad.
Unfortunately, this is the man that was chosen to be dad. That means that he has constitutionally protected rights to his children, and to parent them, even poorly, to the extent allowed by law. To a great extent, parents are legally ALLOWED to be emotionally abusive, and as noted above, the child has not been abandoned - she's just not happy with where she is (which is understandable, but doesn't create a LEGAL problem). The state, in the form of the courts, can't force him to be a good parent, can't force him to spend time with his child, or address many of the other issues that occur in cases such as this one. In short, the courts can't solve MOST "parenting problems" - what they CAN do is look at situations and approve or disapprove a modified parenting plan or visitation order - so work with an attorney to get something drafted and before the court.