my son wants to get custody for his son

tweetie_pie_3

Hi
my grandson is 8 weeks old and he is not looked after properly from the mother she has even told me she dont want him but its her mum that stops her giving him up

A bit of the background the other grandmother had her daughter(my grandsons mum) taken away into care as a child throiugh to neglect she went on to have 2 more children years later which she managed to keep but has had social services involved in their family for nearly 30 years
my son is 18 in 2 weeks and basically got tricked into fatherhood but he did support her through her pregnancy and labour although he wasnt with her and wasnt sure he was his, so we had to get a dna done which proved he was the father.
The baby lives with the mum and grandmothers family although she has her own flat, the house isnt clean and my grandson has had oral thrush been in hospital for over feeding and was constipated and basically general care
As the mother lives with her mum my grandson is under a social worker some of the reasons are to do with her mum the others which none of us knew about until last week is she has taken drugs and has a violent background
Social workers want the baby to come to us but i dont know where to start
My son is a student living with us and im prepared to look after him while my son is at college
We cant afford solicitors but would my son get legal aid as his a student and could he apply for an order or do we have to
We need to act fast or as quickly as possible as there is some suspicians of neglect but as yet no proof but they were so worried last night social and police were hunting her down thankfully my grandson was fine
please help i really need advice on what to do before something bad happens
thankyou

**confuzzled**

Hi I really can't help much but didn't want to read and run!
Have you phoned around the local solicitors who deal in family law for a free 30mins consultation?? Also just found this website which may help answer a few questions about legal aid.

I'm sure others will be along soon with better advice.

Good luck to you and I hope your Grandson is with you soon xx

JBD

Do you actually have any proof that the baby is being neglected? Because oral thrush, feeding difficulties and constipation in a baby certainly aren't uncommon. Why were social workers and police 'hunting her down' ?
Would suggest your son seeks advice from citizen's advice. They would be able to advise re legal aid.
Sorry, meant to add, presumably 'tricked into pregnancy means 'didn't want to use a condom'.

nottslass_2

I'm confused. You say that Social services want the child to come and live with you and that the child has been in hospital because he'd been over fed (not sure how you can "over feed" a 8 week baby) then why haven't social services already removed the child?

To be honest I really can't see a court giving residency unless Social services have already concluded that the child was being neglected/ill treated enough to remove the child from its mothers care.

Make-it-3

Oh my what a situation for the poor child. Whilst I'm sure you can give the child a secure and loving home, its a lot to take on a baby as young as that for any father, especially one who is 18 and still studying. He's going to need a lot of help around him.

But you too need lots of support around you to help the family make the decision as to whether this is the right thing to do, discussions as to how you will manage care, advice from social workers and legal support.

Sorry I can't offer more practical support - but that free 1/2 legal consultations looks like a good starting point. Good luck on the path ahead.

tweetie_pie_3

JBD wrote: »

Do you actually have any proof that the baby is being neglected? Because oral thrush, feeding difficulties and constipation in a baby certainly aren't uncommon. Why were social workers and police 'hunting her down' ?
Would suggest your son seeks advice from citizen's advice. They would be able to advise re legal aid.
Sorry, meant to add, presumably 'tricked into pregnancy means 'didn't want to use a condom'.

There is evidence to suggest neglect but as the other grandmother looks after him all the time apart from when we see him its difficult
The mum doesnt care for him at all she goes out drinking and is planning a 4 day 4 night drinking session this w/end and tricked meaning she said she was on the pill

tweetie_pie_3

nottslass wrote: »

I'm confused. You say that Social services want the child to come and live with you and that the child has been in hospital because he'd been over fed (not sure how you can "over feed" a 8 week baby) then why haven't social services already removed the child?

To be honest I really can't see a court giving residency unless Social services have already concluded that the child was being neglected/ill treated enough to remove the child from its mothers care.

They have been over loading his tummy feeding him 6 oz then 2 hours later another 2 0z and he is having double what he should be having at his age but when his at mine for a few days his fine but its not the mum doing it its the other grandmother
the police were hunting her down as they have suspicians she is giving him calpol to get him to sleep as his been very dopey and the mum told me the docs prescribed it but theres no record of it

Fang_3

What have Social Services said? Why aren't they helping you with this if they support it?

JBD

tweetie_pie wrote: »

tricked meaning she said she was on the pill

It was still your son's responsibility to use a condom. If you don't understand that then I have to question your own suitability at parenting.

simpywimpy

While you sort any legalities and residency, why not offer nicely to have the baby at your home as often as possible. This would also be in your favour for any future court case as you would show you have been providing significant care already.

Rather than just remove a child, social services will try everything possible to educate and support the new mother. Removing a child is a last resort.

Fang_3

tweetie_pie wrote: »

There is evidence to suggest neglect but as the other grandmother looks after him all the time apart from when we see him its difficult
The mum doesnt care for him at all she goes out drinking and is planning a 4 day 4 night drinking session this w/end and tricked meaning she said she was on the pill

The pill doesn't protect against STDs. Why was your son having unprotected sex? Why is he not dealing with this?