can my husband get sole custody of his daughter? (renting, attorney)

[karen.n2884]

My husband have a 9 year old daughter who he had not seen grow up. He tried to reach out to the kids mother for years but she wont talk to him changed her address and numbers. He never failed paying child support. Now after 9 years his ex all of a sudden added him in facebook and decided to communicate and let him speak to his daughter because apparently the kid is now asking about him and would like to see and meet him. He was able to talk to her a couple of times now and based on what we found out about the way they live I felt fear for my step daughter.. She sleeps in chair in the living room because she dont have her own bedroom and no bed no couch and furnitures. The kids mom is unemployed her husband is incarcerated and currently have a boyfriend who has full access to her house. Can somebody tell me if my husband can possibly get sole custody of her since she is obviously an unfit mother? And what does he need to do to file for custody? I am really worried about the kids situation and her environment. We would like to get her out of that situation as soon as possible.

[NJGOAT]

What you need to do is what your husband should have done 9 years ago if he actually wanted to see his child...contact an attorney and pursue visitation/custody rights. If you feel that the child is in imminent danger or is being neglected, then contact the Department of Children and Families and report the situation.

DCF

This the abuse hotline:

CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT HOTLINE
1-877-NJ ABUSE (652-2873)
1-800-835-5510 (TTY)
24 hours a day - 7 days a week
Any person having reasonable cause to believe that a child has been abused or neglected has a legal responsibility to report it to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (formerly DYFS). Calls can be made anonymously.

This is the family counseling line, which may be a good place to start where your husband can talk to a counselor and get advice on what he should do and what resources are available to him:

FAMILY HELPLINE
1-800-THE-KIDS (843-5437)
24 hours a day - 7 days a week
If you're feeling stressed out, call the Family Helpline and work through your frustrations before a crisis occurs. You'll speak to sensitive, trained volunteers of Parents Anonymous who provide empathic listening about parenting and refer you to resources in your community.