My sister is 19, she has a 2 year old, her and the baby's father were never married but separated over a year ago. He very seldom contributes to any of the child's needs, she suffers from fever seizures and never comes or calls to check on her. He signed the birth certificate at the hospital but nothing more, no paternity test or anything of that sort. My question is, What rights does this man have to my niece? She needs her father and my sister agrees to that, he just CHOOSES not to see her or take care of her. Especially now that he has a new girlfriend. He has been investigated by DFACS about his son's mysterious bruises and his nieces bruises as well. My niece came home with 2 black eyes and the "father" told my sister she "ran" into a foot board on his bed. Since this time, my sister hasn't let him take my niece away for visits, but he has only seen her once in 4 months. What legal proceedings should my sister take ?

If he signed the birth certificate he is the legal father. No paternity test necessary.

Has your sister applied for child support? You can't force a man to be a father, but you can require that he support his child.