A Christchurch dad is wrestling with Child Youth and Family (CYF) to have his six months old daughter placed in his care.

CYF has removed the child from the mother at birth, as all the mother’s other children have ended up in CYF care due to neglect.

The father had been standing by to take care of the child, but CYF decided to place the baby with foster parents and order a paternity test first although neither parent had raised any doubt about parentage.

The father has also undergone one-on-one babycare training with Father & Child Trust in preparation for taking care of his daughter.

Although the test proved the father’s paternity, and no concerns had been raised about his ability to care for a baby, CYF wants to leave the baby in foster care saying that she has now bonded with the foster parents and removing her would not be in the child’s best interest.

The case highlights what some fathers’ groups claim is a bias by the agency against fathers.

In another Christchurch case, CYF made no attempt to contact the father of a 4 year old girl after the death of her mother.

The girl was moved into foster care with a woman, who the father claims has made anti-male comments. The Family Court has since revoked CYF’s custody over the child, opening the way for a greater involvement of the father and possibly day-to-day care.