My question involves child support in the State of: Texas.
My daughter and her ex-boyfriend have 3 children,two boys and a girl. My other daughter has 1 of the boys and the girl. I (grandma) have the other boy. The parents have just left these children with us,no support,no insurance,nothing. We have been told we can get medicaid for these kids,but that is it. Neither one of us has the money to go to a lawyer and get legal custody or support for these kids. Child Protective Services will not do anything unless we want to turn the kids over to them to be put in foster care. I have been told if we file a poilce report saying these kids were abandoned, that CPS would have to get involved. But, I have also be told that CPS might take the kids away from us. We do not want these kids to be placed in foster care. We want to keep the parents from being able to jerk these kids out of stable homes and to pay some type of support. Is there somewhere else we can get help for these kids? It looks like the state would have way of helping the people and family of these children rather than wanting them stick these kids in foster care.
Child Abandoment and Support in Texas
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02-09-2010, 07:44 AMtebaronChild Abandoment and Support in Texas
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02-09-2010, 10:40 AMaardvarcRe: Child Abandoment and Support in TexasThat can and will only happen at the direction of a court. Either you can bring a case before the court with an attorney, or CPS can bring a case before the court. There really isn't a way around it. Until then, the children remain in the legal custody of the parents, who can show up and retrieve them at will, and, are under no legal obligation to provide financial support to you for your care of the children. Morally it's horrible - but legally, you are a volunteer long term babysitter with no rights at this point.Quote:
Quoting tebaron
CPS is your only option other than going directly to the court yourself to petition for guardianship of the children. Yes, involving CPS means there is the risk that they may remove the children. But they won't typically DO that unless they have a REASON to do so. They don't just blindly walk in the door and remove children and automatically place them in foster care. They'd prefer children to remain with family when possible, particularly when family has already stepped forward to care for them when a parent has been in crisis or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for the children.Quote:
Is there somewhere else we can get help for these kids? It looks like the state would have way of helping the people and family of these children rather than wanting them stick these kids in foster care.