My 16 year old grandson is in YDC for the second time!

[thinlynn08]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia...The parents are divorced and father has always had physical custody and has never abided by what divorce decree says as far as visitation goes. He has pretty much done whatever he wanted with my two grandsons, just letting us see them whenever. Now most of the time, he would let their mother and I get them every other week-end, but not on holidays like the final decree says. He used to beat my daughter when they were married. I have pictures of my youngest grandson's backside with belt mark bruises. The father has had DFCS called to him several times because he is so mean and he drinks! The oldest one is 16 and is rebelling because he wants to live with his mother or either me. We don't have the money to hire an attorney and he has ran away from home twice to get over here to us in a neighboring town. The juvenile judge in the county they live in gave him probation and has forbidden him to have anything to do with his mother and our family until "he learns to behave himself". He is not a bad child. He has never given me any trouble, backtalk or anything like that. He is a very helpful young man when he is here with me using only "Yesmam, no mam, can I help you with that, Mawmaw?" He thrives better with me or his mother but because his father has physical custody, the judge has imposed probation and no visitation with us. This has only made this child worse. His father has a live-in girlfriend. Father decided he wanted to learn to drive a semi-truck and was gone for several weeks leaving both boys with his girlfriend. She let my 16 year old grandson get drunk while his father was gone. I know this because he slipped and called me and told me that "she" let him get drunk. The juvenile judge wouldn't even let me speak in court and was very rude to me and my daughter. I feel like I am being punished because I can't see him nor talk to him. We are not the only family that this judge has been extremely rude to. I don't know how the father has "snowed" the probation officer and the judge. I called the DFCS in their county and they said they couldn't tell me anything. My daughter did talk to an attorney just for legal advice and that attorney told her to tell my grandson to ask for legal representation. We can't even get this information to him. Do I as a grandparent not have any rights whatsoever to my grandson? The probation officer told my daughter that the father wanted to have my grandson declared "crazy" (which he is NOT) and have him institutionalized then he would be away from us forever. What recourse do I have? I want to see and talk to my grandson! Please help me. Court is on Wednesday, Dec. 2nd. I just need to know what I can do to help him!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[Isis1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia...The parents are divorced and father has always had physical custody and has never abided by what divorce decree says as far as visitation goes. He has pretty much done whatever he wanted with my two grandsons, just letting us see them whenever. Now most of the time, he would let their mother and I get them every other week-end, but not on holidays like the final decree says. He used to beat my daughter when they were married. I have pictures of my youngest grandson's backside with belt mark bruises. The father has had DFCS called to him several times because he is so mean and he drinks! The oldest one is 16 and is rebelling because he wants to live with his mother or either me. We don't have the money to hire an attorney and he has ran away from home twice to get over here to us in a neighboring town. The juvenile judge in the county they live in gave him probation and has forbidden him to have anything to do with his mother and our family until "he learns to behave himself". He is not a bad child. He has never given me any trouble, backtalk or anything like that. He is a very helpful young man when he is here with me using only "Yesmam, no mam, can I help you with that, Mawmaw?" He thrives better with me or his mother but because his father has physical custody, the judge has imposed probation and no visitation with us. This has only made this child worse. His father has a live-in girlfriend. Father decided he wanted to learn to drive a semi-truck and was gone for several weeks leaving both boys with his girlfriend. She let my 16 year old grandson get drunk while his father was gone. I know this because he slipped and called me and told me that "she" let him get drunk. The juvenile judge wouldn't even let me speak in court and was very rude to me and my daughter. I feel like I am being punished because I can't see him nor talk to him. We are not the only family that this judge has been extremely rude to. I don't know how the father has "snowed" the probation officer and the judge. I called the DFCS in their county and they said they couldn't tell me anything. My daughter did talk to an attorney just for legal advice and that attorney told her to tell my grandson to ask for legal representation. We can't even get this information to him. Do I as a grandparent not have any rights whatsoever to my grandson? The probation officer told my daughter that the father wanted to have my grandson declared "crazy" (which he is NOT) and have him institutionalized then he would be away from us forever. What recourse do I have? I want to see and talk to my grandson! Please help me. Court is on Wednesday, Dec. 2nd. I just need to know what I can do to help him!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

mom needs an attorney. for everytime that dad went against the court order, mom should have taken dad to court for contempt.

now, court order has restricted mom access to the child indefinitely while he is a minor it seems. is the child seeing a therapist?

mom can request the court to assign a GAL/minor's attorney for the child.

you don't have any rights to see the child at this time.

 

[thinlynn08]

But that's just it, see. We don't have a lot of money in these trying times! My daughter lives on disability and there just aren't any attorney's who will take the case pro bono. In other words, we cannot afford it at all. Everytime you attempt to take someone back to court for contempt, that costs money! So my grandson suffers because he can't see us, we suffer because we can't see him, what good is all that doing? And it's just because we don't have the money? I do not understand the judicial system at all, especially when the judge looks down her nose at all of us and tries to make us look like idiots when we try to speak on my grandson's behalf, it's just pathetic! The father is only pushing his son further and further away from him and I guarantee when my grandson is old enough to walk away from his father, he will do so and never look back. I will await that day! How old does he (my grandson) have to be before he can legally do just that? How can a judge allow a woman that is not even his step mother to see him when the real mother can't? And she lets him get drunk when the father is not around....I just don't get it. I feel as though we are fighting a losing battle here and we get no words of encouragement. And who does my daughter need to tell that her son should be represented legally in the court. And will that guarantee that he will have legal counsel?