This morning I had a chat with my nephew’s father. I’ve known the gentleman for oh… 19 years so it was a friendly chat. I apologized for calling him with such unpleasant reasons but he said that was ok. He found out that my nephew has been using at Thanksgiving and wasn’t sure what to do. I explained to him that due to the nature of my job I am actually legally required to call CPS. He then proceeded to tell me that technically he has full legal custody and he is willing to back me 100%. He has felt rather frustrated and unsure of what to do in the last month (he was always kind of a wuss) but he will be making an additional call to CPS today.

My sister has a long and sordid history with the law. Many drug offenses, both major and minor color her legal history. My understanding is that anything that will put her in front of a judge at this point is likely to put her in prison. I know she has been supplying many minor children with drugs and alcohol for the past few years and I am willing to bet that me turning her in is going to result in her going to prison. I believe her children deserve to be removed from the abusive and neglectful household. I am going to work very hard to ensure that this happens.

I have many mixed feelings about this, of course. This is going to sever completely whatever ties I have with my biological family–probably permanently. This being the second time I have turned a family member into the system to be held accountable for their actions. This will be viewed as entirely inappropriate behavior, and I’m ok with that. I really believe that this is the right thing to do.

My nephew has told his father and I that his mother is rarely ever at home. This is a continued pattern that has existed since their early childhood. I know well. When I was 15 she disappeared for the summer and only brought us groceries once a week. Other than that she was out partying. I don’t want to see my niece go down this road and I will do anything I can to prevent it. This is still very very hard.