Washington law allows a non-parent to seek custody of a child under limited circumstances.  RCW 26.____.  The parents’ right to custody and control of their own children is constitutionally guaranteed, but not an absolute right.  The state court may intervene and place the child with a non-parent seeking custody if the judge finds that the child would suffer actual detriment by being returned to live with a parent.  The most common “non-parental custody” case is initiated by the grandparents or other care-giving adults who have been providing the child with primary care for some time before seeking a custody order because the parent(s) have abandoned or are not capable of providing adequate care for the child.