I think the courts made an excellent decision. They will allow childcare and an as yet unnamed "neutral party" to run their assessments of her capabilities and then decide. The father who apparently has legal custody retains this (proof to me were not quite living in a police state..yet).
I think this will become an excellent learning experience for a lot more people than foreseen... Just hope this legal tangle will not "damage" (a term almost impossible to define) the girl more than any circumnav probably would...
My take: the girl is absolutely my hero for trying, the dad the baddy for actually letting her ;-)