absent parent - how do I get them to be involved or my daughter deal with the hard facts?

[Smiles]

Yes, you tell her that my son went through the same thing she did. My son is 26, he finally got to speak to his absent dad last month. His dad still remembered him. He even tried to come visit with him after he was born but he told my son that my mom refused his visit. I didn't know it. He said he has been calling an old phone number for many years and the last time was in 2005. My son told his dad that my mom spoke a lot about him. She even tried for me to locate him in 2005 since he's in the Military and he has access to data files. First place to look would be the Social Services in your area or Child Support Divisions in your area. Not sure where you live and with the states guidelines I do not know if they have them in your area. Here are some suggestions, find anything that relates to him like relatives, neighbors, work location, facebook or social networking, library microfilms, Social Security Administration, IRS, courthouse or school reunion locations. Some where some one may recognize the name and/or face. Lets hope you have pictures of him and his personal information. Tell her not to give up hope. My son is now happy with his new family. He seems to ignore me now...lol I hope this helps.