Child & family services . how much power do they have?

The child and family services apparently have accumulated enough information with regard to the mother and father of the baby to deem that they are unfit parents. It sounds as though they must have been given information during the mother's pregnancy. Perhaps a healthcare provider who could verify that the mother had taken a dangerous drug during pregnancy reported that incident, which in most cases they are obligated to do for the protection of the child.

If the father has a record, I'm sure that the agency has also looked into that. I'm not saying that a record automatically makes it impossible for a father to have custody of his child, especially if he has conducted himself like a good law abiding and productive citizen in the community. I don't however know the details of his past or present and don't know what evidence the agency is holding against him in the matter. I'm assuming the mother and father aren't married.

You may wish to have them contact the agency to find out exactly what evidence they have and are using to remove the child from their care. I'm not certain that they would give you that information directly since you are a third party.

As the grandmother, I would think that you should have the option to adopt the baby as your own. Have the mother and father find out the details on their cas.You should then discuss the legalities of this situation with a good family/custody attorney to determine what steps you need to take.

Good Luck!

Children and youth services can do what ever they want to do short of kidnapping if they feel that the minor child is in danger. They have to look out for the best interest of the child. It sounds to me like your not getting the whole story from your child, but all state laws are different so I could be wrong. I am only familiar with PA state law. What you could do is file for permanent or temporary custody of the child until son/daughter take some parenting classes or some documented rehabilitation. I would tell your son/daughter to F.O.R. or focus on renewel groups in your area and take the free parenting classes now, so that when they do go to court or try to get the baby back the judge will see that they are trying to better themselves and might let the baby go home.