My boyfriend and myself are thinking about getting custody of our 3month old nephew, and I'm not sure how to get the ball rolling. My boyfriends younger brother and his 17yr old girlfriend just had a baby, which neither of them were really ready for. The girl and the baby are living at her drug addict fathers house, while the guy has been living at his fathers house while working to make money to support the baby. They have split up because the boy has anger problems, and I don't blame her for leaving but she is unable to care for it by herself, and isn't getting help where she is. She is now drinking and doing drugs herself. The baby is in an unsafe environment and I want to protect him. What can I do?

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Originally Posted by concerned_girl

My boyfriend and myself are thinking about getting custody of our 3month old nephew, and im not sure how to get the ball rolling. My boyfriends younger brother and his 17yr old girlfriend just had a baby, which neither of them were really ready for. the girl and the baby are living at her drug addict fathers house, while the guy has been living at his fathers house while working to make money to support the baby. they have split up because the boy has anger problems, and i dont blame her for leaving but she is unable to care for it by herself, and isnt getting help where she is. she is now drinking and doing drugs herself. the baby is in an unsafe enviornment and i want to protect him. what can i do?

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First thing you do is protect the child by calling your local Child Welfare Service and reporting this. They will investigate and determine if the child is at risk.

You are not first in line if custody is taken from the parents - their parents' rights to the child are superior to yours.

You would have to apply for custody (which you cannot do without the consent of the parents but, of course, if they lose custody it isn't necessary), prove you can support the child in every way (emotionally, physically, financially) and a Judge would decide.

The only thing you can do right now, as judy pointed, out is to call CPS. Do it sooner rather than later if you really feel the child is in harms way. They will go in and investigate and determine if the child should be removed. If they do remove the child then you can file for custody but until then you have no rights to the child.

Can I get custody of my nephew if the mother told me all she wanted was visits because I told her if I get him again I was going to keep him