On the outside looking in.. (legally, pills, parents, girls)

[Cape Cod Todd]

On the outside looking in.. I know someone who is a father but never should have been. He has 3 kids, one is perpetual pot head student approaching 30, another recently graduated high school but is bouncing around job to job with no plans beyond tomorrow and the other basically dropped out of school when she was 13. She didn't actually drop out but she decided that she didn't want to go and her father made it easy on her not to. She was falling through the cracks, getting into trouble with drugs, drinking and the wrong type of people so we made a anonymous call to the school and the truant officer took action and used to go to the house and drag her to school. The problem was the school had budget cuts and they cut this position so the kid once again had a free pass to skip.
Today I heard through the grape vine that the now 17 year old daughter came home at 6am drunk, got into a fight with Dad who told her he didn't want her there anymore, she grabbed her behaviour pills and left. They haven't heard from her in 2 days. She is probably wiht her boyfriend but who knows?
What can I do. This poor kid has been lost for years due to the lack of parenting. It is a pretty sad situation to say the least. If I were her dad I would be calling her friends trying to find her then I would be calling the police. I think this bum flat out doesn't care about his kids.

[malamute]

I don't think you can do much but work hard and pay your taxes so these grown up children will get government handouts and can continue living like they're living.

[purehuman]

The girls 17, pretty close to legal age isn't she?
I'd be out looking for her too, but obviously the Dad finds it too much work, or too depressing, or whatever.
I doubt that the police would do much...seriously.
Like you said, maybe he never should have had kids...some people just make lousy parents.
Do you have any kind of friendship with this young woman? If so, just let her know that if she needs someone to talk to or confide in she can come to you, and you'll not betray her.

[Hopes]

I'd go find her myself.

[allenk893]

Those were his kids and his responsibility. If he failed as a parent, then that's his problem. Do not get involved. At this point, there's nothing you can say or do for the 17-year-old girl. She has a mind and will of her own. And she CHOSE to do those things. She can choose to take herself out of it and get help. She's almost 18 anyway. There's no point in trying to get involved because 1) she obviously doesn't want to be helped, and 2) she's almost at the age where she can legally do as she pleases and be her own caretaker.