If I want to adopt my cousin...what do I do?

I commend you for caring. Your statement "I want" which was taken poorly, was used by many of the people in the class I took to become a foster parent. "I want to rescue my nephew, both his parents are on drugs, and the foster mom he has I believe is neglectful and using him for money." "We are raising our grandchildren since their parents got into drugs, and "we want" to become licensed, because someone told us there would be money available to help us with our new expenses." "My husband and I want to adopt a baby." My wife and I planned to have 2 children then adopt a child, from the time we were first dating. We just want to help a child in need." Another gal said, "I want to adopt one girl, between ages of 7 and 12." I said, "I want to adopt 2 children, both boys, siblings, same time, ages 2-5." So, there were a lot of "I wants."It could be a long haul but I encourage you to hang in there with your desire to be a stable loving resource for this child. I would encourage you to take the classes to become a foster parent, it is often a first step for a child like this, being fostered. Lets you learn more about the system, also. (It can be awful if you didn't know). I'd encourage you to report, if you can do it anonymously that is best, what you hear, every time. You might ask the state to look at her medical records, (she may have few to none, and is supposed to have regular checkups, it's just a way to point out she's not being cared for). See if there are any neighbors who might report. Sometimes they will.