Hello donna450: I'm so sorry to read of your dilemma. I wish I had some good suggestions for you. Given the control it sounds like your daughter has over your granddaughter, & your granddaughter's apparent inability to contradict her mother, I am at a loss as to what to suggest. If, somehow, Julie could be gotten in to see a school counselor (assuming there is one who would be any good) perhaps a professional such as that could begin to make some inroads into your granddaughter's situation.

From what you've written, as you say in your post, this is a complicated situation & not one that is going to be amenable to a simple fix. Realistically, the best you may be able to do is to provide what little support you have the opportunity to provide under the present circumstances. Beyond that, perhaps, if it is possible, you could be putting aside some money for Julie to get some additional education once she turns 18. If you were able to do this, & you could let her know it is happening, perhaps this could be something of a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, so that she can see there is a way forward. That, plus your ongoing love & support, may be the most that can be offered at the present time.

It might also be helpful to begin looking into schools she might be able to attend, & financial aid that may be available, depending on what her interests are. I'm not necessarily thinking about colleges even, but maybe vocational schools. Of course, if your daughter gets wind of this, she'll probably see it as meddling. But, none of it needs to involve her... or even Julie at this point, beyond letting your granddaughter know it is happening. The idea is simply to give Julie something to hang onto for the future. Given that she's almost 16, that future is not far off.

I, of course, don't know where you live & that makes a difference. But, where I live there is a strong child protection system and, if one wanted to be aggressive about it, one could report a situation such as this to Child Protection & they would investigate the situation thoroughly & take whatever actions are necessary. One possibility might be that you, or another person, might be appointed by the court as Julie's guardian. Once this process is put in place, however, you do lose control over the situation & you have no control over the outcome.

Simply trying to show Julie a way forward for the future, which is not far off, & providing whatever loving support you can for the time being, are the only things that occur to me as possible ways to support your granddaughter, other than dropping the "atomic bomb", so to speak, by contacting whatever authorities may have the authority to step in & take control.

I send warm thoughts your way with the hope that you & your granddaughter will be able to find that light at the end of the tunnel.