Kay:  I work for the  State of Missouri, Judicial Branch (court).  What
Hayleigh's father needs to do and it seems that he's done this already, is
he needs to hire a  good Family Court attorney.  The Missouri legislature
passed a law in 2005 that prohibits children (once they've come under the
jurisdiction of the court) to be placed back into a home where a convicted
felony sex offender resides. He needs to get Hayleigh placed under the
jurisdiction of the court and it seems he may have a "backdoor" way of
doing that.  He should call DFS and place a Hotline call stating that
Hayleigh has no permanent residence, that she's being left with different
people every night, some of which she is not comfortable being left in the
care of,and that she states she has no permanent home.  This should start
the ball rolling and an investigation should be made at that time.  Also,
if the step father was convicted of molesting 12 and 14 year old girls
rather than boys, it will definately be in his favor.

Also his attorney can and should  file a judgment modification (providing
there is already a judgment in place regarding visitation, etc)  and try to
obtain custody of her based on what Hayleigh's said. This may require that
a judge at some point will have to talk to Hayleigh, but judge's are very
good with young children and this shouldn't be too traumatizing for her.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if she is  in school, the State may
step in if her education is at risk. Hayleigh's dad needs to keep in close
contact with her school and make sure she's not missing alot of school or
accruing an excessive amount of tardies or  having other  problems i.e.
social, eductional, etc.

He can also file a Child Protection Order through the Jackson County Court
House if he feels that her safety is in immediate danger, and if she tells
him about any type of abuse he should immediately call the police and make
a report, he needs to document everything and again, I can't stress
strongly enough, Hayleigh's father must have a good Family attorney.    I
know it's very frustrating, but unfortunately there are laws that have to
be followed and sometimes they don't make sense to us, but there are ways
around the judicial system and a good attorney is worth the price.  What
price can we put on the peace of mind knowing that our children are safe. I
hope this helps and of course, Hayleigh will be in my prayers.  I pray for
all the children that come into our jurisdiction. There are alot of messed
up and sick people out there and it's heartbreaking to see how the little
ones suffer.