What to do? Advice needed!

[Brooksy]

I posted a while ago about my neice not being taken to school by her mum. My brother thought it had all been sorted out with the threat of the police coming around. Anyway my brother is very upset today as he has just learnt that his daughter has not been to school at all this week. He has spoken to the school and apparently she has missed 19 days of school and its not even half way through the year. The school has done nothing not even sending the police around like they said they would.

If this keeps up it will probably mean that she will fall behind and will have to repeat grade one. My mum said to him that he should go for custody of her, but he thinks he will be in for a big court case as his daughter means money for his ex . All up she has four children two to one bloke, my brothers little girl and has just had another baby to someone else. At the moment there are no formal custody papers there is just an uderstanding between my brother and his ex that he will take his daughter from friday until monday.

My mum doesn't know who to contact to find out what can be done about this. Do we contact the department of families, does he go to a lawyer for advice? OR do we contact the department of education.

Does anyone know what can be done it would be very much appreciated

[Jem]

im pretty sure that if there a number of unexplained absences the department of education will get pretty suspicious and look into the matter further.
Sorry im not much help :o

[shed]

Oh god Brooksy, its a long drawn out vicious and traumatic process and then he's got buckley's anyway.

My cousin went through this, but from the other side, she's the shocker who doesn't send her son to school half the time, and his father went for custody and we all thought (and secretly hoped) that he would get it, but he didn't.

She never spends any time with her kid, she palms him off to everyone and she hangs out with druggies. The father has married and had a kid with another lady and they could have offered a secure home, but he still didn't win.

[InSaneOne]

your brother can draw up orders himself and lodge them with the court. then she has a month (i think) to respond - or lodge her own orders. the judge will then look at the orders and if he decides that they are ok they will be implemented.

centrelink or childrens services can probably give you name os someone to talk to or legal aid will even help you fill out the papers.

if you want more info please pm me as we went through a similar thing a few years back with dh's ex not looking after the kids properly. it is a not a very compilcated process but it can get very messy.

[Beany]

Do we contact the department of families, does he go to a lawyer for advice? OR do we contact the department of education.

All three. And anyone else you can think of, too.

Get your brother to get the official school attendance records, too.

Even if your brother doesn't get custody, at least the various authorities will be alerted to the neglect that this little girl is encountering and they will (hopefully) attempt to rectify it in some way.

Perhaps, after seeing a lawyer and getting proper advice on his rights and responsibilities, your brother can offer to take his daughter for the weekdays and she can have weekends?

[jessgray]

if a child is not at school without a reason for more then 3 days a week the school notifies the deparment of education and DHS (DOCS in some states). 3 days a week is being absent about 75% of the time :) also if the parents claim education maitance for the child they dont get it if their child is not at school without a reason.