Here’s the situation I’m in…
Two years ago, my wife’s relative harmed her autistic son. The judge was EXTREMELY lenient and she didn’t have to serve jail time, but she did have to place the child in a temporary foster home and complete multiple courses in order to have the felony downgraded to a misdemeanor and obtain custody of her son.
It was decided that we’d foster the child until the courses were completed, which was expected to be 6 to 8 months. The courses were finally completed last summer (over a year after the event) and she had legal custody at that point as well. We decided to be nice and allow the child to finish the school year with us, since the relative was living with parents and autistic children need a routine. My wife warned the relative in January that due to circumstances in our life, we wouldn’t be able to continue to keep him for next school year and if she didn’t figure something out, then the state would have to place him in another home. The relative understood.
We’ve since discovered that the relative isn’t trying to get her life together. No job. No attempts at getting a job. She’s just living off her elderly parents. Her father, however, has said that her child cannot come live with them, which is understandable as they don’t have much space. So here we are at a bit of a stalemate…
In the two years since her child has been living with us, she hasn’t come to our house to visit him at all (we live an hour and a half away and she has a car). She doesn’t reach out to me or my wife to check on him. She honestly doesn’t even know if the child is alive. It’s basically common knowledge amongst the family that she doesn’t want the child based upon what I said above.
My question is, what happens if she asks the state to keep the child? Would her and/or the father have to pay child support? Be charged with neglect? Before she makes a decision, I’d like to do my part and at least inform my wife of the consequences.
Thanks!
LOCATION: South Carolina