Advice Needed.

[2centsworth]

Update: When I arrived at the apartment the police were already there. Info that I was missing is that the incident occured on Friday and that CPS was already involved in the case. My niece had two large bruises in the shape of a belt. If you feel the need to spank a 6 year old girl sobeit, but using a weapon makes no sense to me. Nevertheless, the good news is she wasn't hurt as badly as I initially thought.

We will continue to follow through with the authorities and CPS to protect my niece.

I'm thankful to my Spurstalk Family for being there for me. The Ellis' have created a special place.

[BacktoBasics]

If she wasn't hurt as bad as you thought is there a chance that she was simply just spanked a little harder than expected? I know I recently left a mild bruise on the side of my boys leg because I snapped him in a little more boney area than usual.

I'm not trolling either.

Also. If you're gonna take pictures again down the road I'd not only use the date stamp but also get a few shots with a dated newspaper. Time stamps on cameras constantly fall under critizism. Futhermore I hope everythings ok and worked out.

[2centsworth]

If she wasn't hurt as bad as you thought is there a chance that she was simply just spanked a little harder than expected? I know I recently left a mild bruise on the side of my boys leg because I snapped him in a little more boney area than usual.

I'm not trolling either.

Also. If you're gonna take pictures again down the road I'd not only use the date stamp but also get a few shots with a dated newspaper. Time stamps on cameras constantly fall under critizism. Futhermore I hope everythings ok and worked out.

right now the argument from his side would be he hit her a little harder than expected. History tells me this guy is abusive, but getting the evidence has been the issue. He's on notice and the authorities are involved, so hopefully that deters him from hurting her in the future. If she comes back beat up again then we have a trackrecord.

I'm certainly taking precautions not to over reach, but at the same time look after my niece.

[BacktoBasics]

right now the argument from his side would be he hit her a little harder than expected. History tells me this guy is abusive, but getting the evidence has been the issue. He's on notice and the authorities are involved, so hopefully that deters him from hurting her in the future. If she comes back beat up again then we have a trackrecord.

I'm certainly taking precautions not to over reach, but at the same time look after my niece.

Those kind of situations would really make me uncomfortable because if this guy feels threatened by family, friends and the law he may take it out on the kiddo in ways other than a spanking. I would definitely make sure multiple family members stay in constant contact with her. You just never know when dudes with tempers decide to go overboard.

Are there any steps being taken as of right now to transfer custody of the child?

[mrsmaalox]

Now that CPS is involved is there a possibility of altering the visitation policy so that he can only have supervised visits? Or does that require some sort of pe ion to a court?

[mrsmaalox]

p.s. I'm glad you and your wife are there for them; they have been blessed to have you!

[FromWayDowntown]

First of all, I always think its praiseworthy to salute those who stand up for children and against the cowards who abuse children. It shouldn't have to be that way, but there are too many stories about adults who don't do that, and I think the good guys deserve their props.

I'd be curious how the custody arrangement was created. I think it a very wise first step to involve the authorities and to ensure that the child's health is cared for. Having done that, I would be thinking about legal processes to limit the father's custodial time with the child. It might cost some money and it may bring its own set of problems, but if there's proof that the father is abusing the child (and the do entation from last night will begin (and hopefully end) that process), it's perfectly valid to revisit custody from a legal standpoint. If the custody arrangement is created through a divorce decree, the trial court that signed the decree has continuing jurisdiction to revise the decree to change things like custody. If there is no mention of custody in the decree (or if there isn't any decree for some reason), either parent can seek to modify the custodial arrangement or to have a court declare the custodial rights of the parents. It will be harder to do, unfortunately, if there is only one incident and that incident could be understood to be a harder-than-normal spanking; but the welfare of the child should always been paramount and there are means of restricting custody that don't wholly eliminate the father's rights. It could be that the child could visit the father for a probationary period while requiring that the father always have another adult in the room or something creative like that. There are, I am sure, lesser sanctions than complete deprivation that will protect the child while respecting the father's rights (absent convincing proof of abuse) and any good family law attorney will know of an array of options that might prove to be useful in such a situation.

[leemajors]

Now that CPS is involved is there a possibility of altering the visitation policy so that he can only have supervised visits? Or does that require some sort of pe ion to a court?

that has to be court ordered.

[baseline bum]

Whether a parent wants to spank his child or not is his own (and only his own) choice IMO, but a belt to the neck? What kind of sicko would do that to a kid? I'm sorry to hear this loser got off with a warning.

EDIT: my bad, I misread back as neck. That's still pretty messed up to hit someone in the back with a belt.

[spurspf]

First of all, I always think its praiseworthy to salute those who stand up for children and against the cowards who abuse children. It shouldn't have to be that way, but there are too many stories about adults who don't do that, and I think the good guys deserve their props.

I'd be curious how the custody arrangement was created. I think it a very wise first step to involve the authorities and to ensure that the child's health is cared for. Having done that, I would be thinking about legal processes to limit the father's custodial time with the child. It might cost some money and it may bring its own set of problems, but if there's proof that the father is abusing the child (and the do entation from last night will begin (and hopefully end) that process), it's perfectly valid to revisit custody from a legal standpoint. If the custody arrangement is created through a divorce decree, the trial court that signed the decree has continuing jurisdiction to revise the decree to change things like custody. If there is no mention of custody in the decree (or if there isn't any decree for some reason), either parent can seek to modify the custodial arrangement or to have a court declare the custodial rights of the parents. It will be harder to do, unfortunately, if there is only one incident and that incident could be understood to be a harder-than-normal spanking; but the welfare of the child should always been paramount and there are means of restricting custody that don't wholly eliminate the father's rights. It could be that the child could visit the father for a probationary period while requiring that the father always have another adult in the room or something creative like that. There are, I am sure, lesser sanctions than complete deprivation that will protect the child while respecting the father's rights (absent convincing proof of abuse) and any good family law attorney will know of an array of options that might prove to be useful in such a situation.

+1. Do you all remember a case about a couple of years ago when the grandfather kept calling CPS, of course they did nothing. The kid died, and somehow the grandfather who tried to alert the authorities to the situation, was indicted too. The sad part, I think he got convicted. I guess he was the ham sandwich. The really really sad part. The kid died of starvation. The grandfather had called several times that the child was not being fed. How can anybody die of starvation in the good old U. S. of A?