What are the Chances of an Abused Child Being Returned to the Abusive Household
My question involves a child custody case from the State of: North Carolina
My son is involved in a very complicated situation. Sorry but it's a long story. He is 21 years old and has a 2 year old son out of wedlock. He is a full time student at a University, but comes home every other weekend for visitation with his son. He works, pays child support voluntarily, and is listed on the birth certificate. He has no formal custody agreement with the child's mother. This was not a problem until recently. My son recently got a call from a relative of his child's mother stating that his son was hospitalized for physical abuse. His ex lied at the hospital and stated that her boyfriend was the child's father, in order to keep authorities from contacting my son. My son immediately left school and drove the 100 miles home and went straight to our local CPS office. He explained the story he had been told and they confirmed that it was all true. CPS immediatly granted temporary custody to me (they felt it the better option, as my son lives in student housing). My grandson had human bites, bruising around the neck, several bruises on his cheek and both ears were purple and swollen horribly. Neither CPS or the police have determined who caused the abuse(they are waiting on dental molds to determine who bit him), but the only people present in the home were my grandson's mother and her boyfriend. My question is, would the courts consider my son for full custody even though he is a full time student? He will graduate this May and be returning to live at home with us, in hopes that he can gain full custody of his son. Also if the boyfriend is the one that abused him, would the court let my grandson go back to his mother even though she didn't participate but was present while the abuse happened and tried to cover it up? If my grandson's mother is the one who abused him, what are the chances that they would allow her to have my grandson back? I know this is kind of hard to follow but any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Re: Custody and Abuse Allegations
As a general rule the goal of CPS is to reunite the child with the custodial parent.
With that said, your son's student status shouldn't be an issue...except for the student housing problem.
Help your son get an attorney on board. This is one he doesn't want to do alone.
Re: Custody and Abuse Allegations
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My question is, would the courts consider my son for full custody even though he is a full time student?
Once he's out of the dorm, sure. It sounds quite likely that you'll retain custody until then.
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Also if the boyfriend is the one that abused him, would the court let my grandson go back to his mother even though she didn't participate but was present while the abuse happened and tried to cover it up? If my grandson's mother is the one who abused him, what are the chances that they would allow her to have my grandson back?
The courts don't operate on "chances", they operate on facts. If/Whether Mom is permitted any custody at all will turn on the full facts of the completed investigation.
Re: Custody and Abuse Allegations
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Quoting
Shamrock72
would the courts consider my son for full custody even though he is a full time student?
Not until he's ABLE to take full custody, including having a suitable place for the child to live. However, given that the investigation to identify the perpetrator is still ongoing, and the nature of the court system, CPS will likely encourage you to maintain temp custody as the case works it's way through the criminal system and they work their case against mom (who is going to have a problem even if she didn't inflict the injuries). By the time things start shaking out, dad should be close to graduation and that'll help his petition for custody.
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if the boyfriend is the one that abused him, would the court let my grandson go back to his mother even though she didn't participate but was present while the abuse happened and tried to cover it up?
Google the term "failure to protect". CPS's stance on this is likely to be this: "if you want to have your child, the boyfriend needs to be GONE and totally out of the picture, otherwise, you're not getting the child back". While it may seem obvious that mom's attempted cover up is a form of abuse itself, none of us are privy to the dynamics within that relationship, and as sure as the sun comes up in the east, mom (or her attorney) are likely to claim, just as in domestic violence cases, that she covered for him out of fear for her own safety if she cooperated with authorities against the boyfriend. Sometimes that's absolutely the case, other times it's a bold faced lie - but if she plays the fear card AND gets rid of the boyfriend, she COULD still retain custody IF she was not the inflictor of injury.
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If my grandson's mother is the one who abused him, what are the chances that they would allow her to have my grandson back?
Generally speaking, if she's the one who dished out the abuse, CPS will seek other options before even considering mom as a suitable guardian. However, stranger things have happened. The answer will really depend on the specific circumstances and whether or not those circumstances can be overcome to the point where the court feels that future danger isn't likely. One of CPS's goals is always reunification of parent and child, when possible, but LOTS of things can impact that. Drug/alcohol use, and receiving treatment for same. Living in a domestic violence situation, and solutions for same. Having mental health issues, and receiving treatment for same. In other words, we can't really pin down "chances" - that's something that'll have to happen amongst a group of professionals who will evaluate the total dynamics that led to the incident - and whether or not those dynamics can be sufficiently altered to protect the child or not. If they can, she might keep custody. If they can't, she'll likely loose custody.
Re: Custody and Abuse Allegations
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Quoting
Shamrock72
My question is, would the courts consider my son for full custody even though he is a full time student?
Would they consider him? Yes, but... he needs to be able to provide an appropriate environment for the child. Also, as protective proceedings remain pending, it's an awkward timeto begin a custody case.
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Quoting Shamrock72
Also if the boyfriend is the one that abused him, would the court let my grandson go back to his mother even though she didn't participate but was present while the abuse happened and tried to cover it up?
Maybe. The future holds many possibilities, and we are not in a position to speculate - we have essentially none of the relevant factual background to the custody situation or abuse case.
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Quoting Shamrock72
If my grandson's mother is the one who abused him, what are the chances that they would allow her to have my grandson back?
Less than if it's "failure to protect", but again not something we can predict for you. Your son needs to focus less on whether mom might successfully complete a program for reunification, and more on how he might obtain custody such that if mom maintains her rights she will be looking at getting visitation as opposed to custody.