Getting custody of my goddaughters

[Godmother to 3]

I’m in a little bit of a bind...so I have 3 goddaughters that I’ve taken care off from July 2017 - August 2018 I would care for the Monday night after work till Tuesday night and Wednesday night till Thursday night. They had a bedroom in my house, I would pick them up from their moms or their grandparents or wherever she needed me to get them. Last year I wasn’t able to care for them for a while and I let the mom know, she got upset and stopped talking to me, at the beginning of the year I let her know I could care for them again but she insisted she already had someone carrying for them (who I later found out was neglecting them) so now I’ve found out someone who I personally don’t trust is now taking care of them. The girls mom is neglectful on her own, I’ve received the girls with horrible diaper rashes, dirty, with the same clothes I’ve handed off with. I’ve also heard she was buying drugs with the girls in the car in which one fell out the window and the drug dealer caught her in time...(I do not do drugs or associate with) the mom also has let me know she’ll have someone take care of the girls just so she could go have “fun” with men. The mom has asked me for money many times. I’ve provided for the girls for the whole time I was taking care of them. My family and my fiancé’s family both know what this mom is capable of and have witnessed the awfulness...what can I do to either get custody of the girls or at least get them taken away from the mom and into their grandparents care...

 

[Just Blue]

I’m in a little bit of a bind...so I have 3 goddaughters that I’ve taken care off from July 2017 - August 2018 I would care for the Monday night after work till Tuesday night and Wednesday night till Thursday night. They had a bedroom in my house, I would pick them up from their moms or their grandparents or wherever she needed me to get them. Last year I wasn’t able to care for them for a while and I let the mom know, she got upset and stopped talking to me, at the beginning of the year I let her know I could care for them again but she insisted she already had someone carrying for them (who I later found out was neglecting them) so now I’ve found out someone who I personally don’t trust is now taking care of them. The girls mom is neglectful on her own, I’ve received the girls with horrible diaper rashes, dirty, with the same clothes I’ve handed off with. I’ve also heard she was buying drugs with the girls in the car in which one fell out the window and the drug dealer caught her in time...(I do not do drugs or associate with) the mom also has let me know she’ll have someone take care of the girls just so she could go have “fun” with men. The mom has asked me for money many times. I’ve provided for the girls for the whole time I was taking care of them. My family and my fiancé’s family both know what this mom is capable of and have witnessed the awfulness...what can I do to either get custody of the girls or at least get them taken away from the mom and into their grandparents care...

What state?

 

[LdiJ]

I’m in a little bit of a bind...so I have 3 goddaughters that I’ve taken care off from July 2017 - August 2018 I would care for the Monday night after work till Tuesday night and Wednesday night till Thursday night. They had a bedroom in my house, I would pick them up from their moms or their grandparents or wherever she needed me to get them. Last year I wasn’t able to care for them for a while and I let the mom know, she got upset and stopped talking to me, at the beginning of the year I let her know I could care for them again but she insisted she already had someone carrying for them (who I later found out was neglecting them) so now I’ve found out someone who I personally don’t trust is now taking care of them. The girls mom is neglectful on her own, I’ve received the girls with horrible diaper rashes, dirty, with the same clothes I’ve handed off with. I’ve also heard she was buying drugs with the girls in the car in which one fell out the window and the drug dealer caught her in time...(I do not do drugs or associate with) the mom also has let me know she’ll have someone take care of the girls just so she could go have “fun” with men. The mom has asked me for money many times. I’ve provided for the girls for the whole time I was taking care of them. My family and my fiancé’s family both know what this mom is capable of and have witnessed the awfulness...what can I do to either get custody of the girls or at least get them taken away from the mom and into their grandparents care...

Unfortunately a godparent designation is a religious one and has no basis under family law. Therefore, you do not have standing to file for custody of the children and your odds of placement in a CPS case would be extremely slim.

If you truly believe that the situation is dire then making a report to CPS/DFS/DCS (whatever your state call its) would be the appropriate thing to do. While its unlikely that you would have a shot at placement the grandparents could have a decent shot if their records are clean and CPS, along with a judge, determines that the children should be removed from the mother. However, its also possible that the children could end up in stranger, foster care placement, or not removed from the mother at all.

 

[Just Blue]

Unfortunately a godparent designation is a religious one and has no basis under family law. Therefore, you do not have standing to file for custody of the children and your odds of placement in a CPS case would be extremely slim.

If you truly believe that the situation is dire then making a report to CPS/DFS/DCS (whatever your state call its) would be the appropriate thing to do. While its unlikely that you would have a shot at placement the grandparents could have a decent shot if their records are clean and CPS, along with a judge, determines that the children should be removed from the mother. However, its also possible that the children could end up in stranger, foster care placement, or not removed from the mother at all.

Don't you think that the state, if indeed OP is even in the US, might matter?

 

[Taxing Matters]

what can I do to either get custody of the girls or at least get them taken away from the mom and into their grandparents care...

Where are these kids located (in what state/country)? In the U.S. parents have the Constitutional right to custody of their minor kids and generally to determine with whom the kids visit unless the parents have been determined unfit. So the mother in this instance has the right to custody of her children until the point the state has proven her unfit. Moreover, for the most part she also may refuse visitation with the kids to anyone she doesn't want the kids to be with. So she does not have to allow you to have the kids visit you. Whether you might successfully sue for visitation depends on the applicable state law. But that said, I'm not aware of any state in which a godparent may sue for visitation. Being a godparent is not a relationship the law recognizes. So as far as the law is concerned, you are legally a stranger to the children. The fact that you did care for the kids a few days a week for a period of time might be relevant, but since it has apparently been about a year since you last cared for them it may not matter much at this point.

If you think the children are being abused or severely neglected in their current situation, contact the child protective services (CPS) agency in the state or county where the kids live and report what is going on. If the kids are removed by CPS you could offer to act as foster parents for the kids while the agency works things out with the mother. Whether the agency would place them with you is up to the agency; you have no way to compel the agency to place them with you.

 

[stealth2]

Where's Dad(s)?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Don't you think that the state, if indeed OP is even in the US, might matter?

There is no state in the US where Godparent status grants any legal standing. Being in the US matters.