Makes sense.

In that case, definitely talk to an attorney about drawing up a general power of attorney, and a medical power of attorney.

You’ll need these to enroll him in school as well as act as his medical consent if anything happens.

You should also talk to the child and see what he wants. He might not be receptive to the help if he feels like he’s abandoned by his mom or “given away”.

Either way, it’s a good thing that you’re considering. It wasn’t the system that ultimately helped me, it was my “adoptive” parents outside the system that took me in in a very similar way.

Everything you do at this point would require parent permission or some sort of power of attorney.

Short of this child being removed from the home for some reason and you being considered as a familial placement, your hands are tied.

Without knowing any details, I’d say your best bet is to offer assistance to the mom in the form of babysitting the kid and giving him at least a temporary sense of normalcy hanging out with your kid.

That could always turn into the possibility of helping more, but that’s hard to say for sure.

Source: Former foster youth, Current foster parent.