I'm a recently divorced man whose daughter is currently in Florida DCF custody due to my ex-wife's refusal to be a mother and a default judgment in the divorce giving her sole custody of my daughter. I have petitioned the courts to modify the divorce decree and was denied by the judge as, to him, it's not an emergency situation. I haven't been able to contact my daughter in over a year because of my ex blocking me or my family. During this period, my daughter has been admitted to several mental facilities through FL DCF for attempting suicide due to the mental and emotional abuse she has been facing in her mother's home. My mother offered to take my daughter to help with the situation since my ex doesn't want me to have custody, but as usual, my ex refused and said she would rather my daughter be a ward of the state than to have her with my family. This has caused me many sleepless and tearful nights thinking about my daughter's situation.

I have finally found an attorney to help me, and he needs $2,500 as a retainer in order to start the process of getting the order modified so I can give my daughter a better life than the one she has been experiencing the last few years. Because of the divorce decree, I found out about all of this at the point where it's a last-ditch effort to try and keep the child in the family by DCF. Please assist me in getting this accomplished because my daughter didn't deserve to be treated like this. She is the sweetest 12-year-old.

What makes this so difficult is the fact that I stay across the country in Scottsdale, AZ, and all of this is happening in the Orlando, FL area, so I don't have the ability to show up in court to do anything in person. I don't have the money for that type of travel and to take care of maintaining my job or place to live at the same time.