custody question

[Pimpn1]

hello not sure if anyone will know what to do but i have known a 6yo boy for about 2 months and i took him for a trip to adelaide sa (im 17yrs old) and he told me that he has been hit and bolted door locked in his room so he cant get out, also he has seen his mum and her boyfriend do their personal buisness (boyfriend has just got out of jail for pedophile charges). the docs (department of child services) has taken the 6yo away to rest (forgot the name) for 2 weeks, but he has told me he wants to move/live with me back to adelaide, so i want to know what i can do to get custody of him. he didnt want to go back home to NSW but i had no choice but to take him back to NSW as i didnt want to get charged with kidnapping.

sorry if it sounds silly. i have been very upset as i want to take him. he doesnt see his dad and all his family dont want him, (his other family live in adelaide)

thankyou

[Tom_1569]

Wats your relationship to the kid?
No offense but i dont like your chances being 17 unless its your brother or something.

[Pimpn1]

he a son of a friend well not really a friend but u know, im 18 next week, id rather him be with someone hes happy with, so the chance i can get to get custody or adopt... im gunna go for it..

[Troy711]

wow man... thats pretty deep. obviously you care about him and his welfare so i wish both of you all the best

[Pimpn1]

thanks i do, i see it in my eyes the child comes first i love him dearly

[CANYONERO]

good to see there are some decent poeple still out there sorry but i dont like your chances either being 17 maybe when you turn 18. id try and ring some govt depts. and go from there.

[Pimpn1]

thanx wat sort of gov dept should i try n ring

[CANYONERO]

dont know, i havent been in this situation. personally i'd start with dept of child services? and see what they say and or recommend somewhere that will try to help you.

[Pimpn1]

thanx might try n ring when i get to adelaide tomorrow

[nicko]

hello not sure if anyone will know what to do but i have known a 6yo boy for about 2 months and i took him for a trip to adelaide sa (im 17yrs old) and he told me that he has been hit and bolted door locked in his room so he cant get out, also he has seen his mum and her boyfriend do their personal buisness (boyfriend has just got out of jail for pedophile charges). the docs (department of child services) has taken the 6yo away to rest (forgot the name) for 2 weeks, but he has told me he wants to move/live with me back to adelaide, so i want to know what i can do to get custody of him. he didnt want to go back home to NSW but i had no choice but to take him back to NSW as i didnt want to get charged with kidnapping.

sorry if it sounds silly. i have been very upset as i want to take him. he doesnt see his dad and all his family dont want him, (his other family live in adelaide)

thankyou

Mate,

your going to want to call " Families SA " here in south oz. I work directly with children who have been removed from their homes due to all sorts of reasons. Firstly i wouldnt use the word ' custody ' when your talking with them as this term is considered a bit abrupt as it sounds like you ' own ' the child. I would assume that until this child has been sent to SA then they will simply just tell you to speak with your local gov department.


All the best with this mate it sounds like your a decent person and as a fellow teenager i have a great deal of respect for you. Goodluck mate. Shoot me a pm if you have any questions

[GAMBLR]

good luck mate, its great to see some people out there still with the decency to do this sorta thing. respect!

CC

[CSP]

Ring the Police. They will either take action or let you know who to contact to take action. The fact you contact them means they have a duty of care and need to endure proper procedures are followed. So if it's not up to them, you'll sure as hell find out who it is up to.

[Cobez]

Yeah i must say mate (although it is of no real help), respect to you for wanting to do this, and you sound like a genuine bloke! I wish you all the luck in the world to having this kid in your custody, by the looks of it, it would make his life alot better.

Good to see there are a alot of decent people still left in the world. Once again, good luck mate!!

[Pimpn1]

hey all thankyou to everyone it has made me feel heaps better

[CSP]

CSP, you friendly freelance ninja...

[Pimpn1]

lol thanx for the pic first time i have smiled since he is gone

[CANYONERO]

gold. someone should start a funny ninja thread and every take pics of themselves doin ninja stuff lol.

[Kikki]

WOW! Good on you! A old friend of mine has "Guardianship" of her 2 nephews & niece (all under 12 years old) and she is single and 22 so it is possible. Although she is related, with the amounts of kids living in unsafe environments and not having enough foster carers to go around you should have a pretty good chance. As for moving him interstate... doubt it. He will still need regular contact with his family, you will need to really show to them your willing to take him there often to meet with his family, the courts will look at the best interest of the child and as he is 6 (some states) will actually have him meet with a psych to discuss any issues he is having before court. The thing is having a 6 year old uprooted from family & school, current friends can be a big thing for a kid his age, I doubt the courts will go for it.

But first you need to be sure your willing to provide for a child, its not cheap, its not all fun and games! At first they all behave and once they get to know you more they push the barriers, not just that but how are you living, are you working, do you earn enough? Do you have your families support? Are you stable?

Then when your 100% sure get in contact with DCD/DHS whoever they are in the state the boy is living in, you need to have PROOF that there is abuse involved, the child's word does not always mean everything, kid's can have wild imaginations and the social worker will want him interviewed by police and most likely a psych, they will want to meet with his school then speak with his current guardians. Then once they have done that they will decide what's best in court, if her is happy to go with you, and your happy to have him and can provide for him they can make you "guardian" but the mother & father can step in at any time and have it re-assessed.

I am guessing there will be some type of conditions on the order, such as you cant move without the parents prior written consent, he will need to have medical certificates when he is too ill to visit with them, and the same for days off school, and you will all have to agree on school's and any medical issues he may have.

Best bet I think would be to get in contact with the Lone Father association in your state (Google them for details) or even legal aide and ask them for some advice. All I know above is from the crap we have gone through with Craig's daughter from his previous relationship and I myself was a ward of the state in foster care etc, so things can change.

It's a really messy and difficult can of worms to open so be 100% sure you really want to go ahead with it.

All the best to you though!

[GAMBLR]

handyman ninja!! lol stupid kids cartoons...
CC

[Troy711]

CSP, you friendly freelance ninja...

do you ever NOT wear a holden shirt?

[Pimpn1]

also i should add that i get along with his mum and she doesnt really want him, bringing him to see mum would be no probs, only 498kms from home in adelaide and i love coming to broken hill, i am on a stable income around 650 to 700 a fortnite, i am 100% sure i want to go through with it as far as i can, most of his family is in adelaide anyway except for his mum.. i have a 3bedroom house and my nana has a grannyflat on the property 3 feet from door to door, my mum lives in NT atm. he has had interviews with docs in NSW and hasnt said anything to them yet, but has told them he wants to live with me and not go back home thanks for the reply macca

[nicko]

From my experience with children under the gardianship if think he will be placed into a foster care system (the type i work for) which is basically him living with a number of carers at a placement while things with his home situation are sorted out. A certain person/s will have what we call ' access' which is when the young person/child is allowed to have a family/friend etc spend time with them, usually abuot 2-3 hours per week. I should say that if he is in SA he could be placed into one of these care situations while a permanent(sp?) home is established for him.

While caring for some children i have seen a family friend go through the process of adoption and it took a very long time, i think your best bet will be that if his mother/father is happy to have the young person live with you. And of course you will have to be deemed suitable to house a child etc etc etc. There are MANY things you need to sort out mate so call families sa asap and get the ball rolling.

[Pimpn1]

also would it help to get written and signed permission from mum to say itsk for him to live with me, the way shes going she wont have much a problem

[nicko]

also would it help to get written and signed permission from mum to say itsk for him to live with me, the way shes going she wont have much a problem

Im sure that DECS ( department of education and child services) will want to speak with the mother/father etc and there will be relevant forms that need to be filled out and proccessed. Families SA will point you in the right direction though. Keep me posted on how this goes mate im very interested.

[Cordelia calais]

Firstly you need to try to remove yourself slightly, you are very emotionally attached to this person and being quite young yourself you are going to need to prove you have a level head on your shoulders and that this is not just a spur of the moment thing. It can be a long and tough road through all this and can become somewhat personal, you need to prove your living conditions, your ability to feed and generally look after this person and most of all they are going to want to know why an 18 yr old wants a child they are not related too. If permission can be sought by the parents for the child to live with you this may be a better option than trying for custody. Be prepaired for a long battle that may end up costing you, hopefully it all runs smoothly and you can have it sorted out in a few weeks and everyone is happy.
Good luck with it all but don't go into this blind, eyes wide open and plenty of research will help you on your way.