grandparent seeking guardianship

Four years ago, Texas child protective services "safety planned" my infant grandchild with my husband and I because of questions of medical neglect by his married parents. There was never any legal action taken on any side because his parents never tried to get him back and CPS never conducted an investigation because the baby was safely taken care of by us.His parents do not contribute financially in any way---however, they occassionally see him at our home, so he does know who they are. They say that they would like to "someday" be a family, but make no actions towards that----ie., jobs, home, car, stability, etc....instead, continue with their boozing, domestic violence, etc. How do we go about seeking legal guardianship since we've raised the child and what kind of dollar figure are we probably looking at? The mother will sign the papers if asked, but the dad will not (they are still married), even though he contributes nothing to the child but grief. Any suggestions?

[LegalBeagle]

Was there ANY order put in place for the transfer of the child into your home ? Any papers at all ?

Have you documented EVERYTHING that has happened over the years regarding their visitation/contact/boozing etc ?

The only paperwork was the emergency "safety plan" paper that was done by CPS in the wee hours of the morning giving us authority to provide for all of his medical, educational, financial needs, etc. This was signed by us, CPS, & the birth mother (Dad was in jail at that moment for assault on the mom---she later dropped those charges). Since no one ever tried to remove the child, additional paperwork never followed. We consulted a lawyer at that time but were told that it would be best to be "reactive" as opposed to "proactive" since no one was attempting to reclaim the child. Now that he is rapidly approaching school age, we feel that it would be very wise to become his legal guardians .

In regards to documentation-----I have documented most of the incidents----certainly the major ones involving the police or hospitals. We have volumes of documentation as far as the medical history of the child is concerned.
Since his mother is also my "child", the whole situation is very disheartening. It's like keeping a diary of the worst nightmare of your life.