of Allen, 28 Wn. App. 637, 626 P.2d 16 (1981). In that case a stepmother had raised her deaf stepson as her own since he was three years old and had fully integrated the child into her family. She ensured that he learned sign language, that all her other children learned sign language as well, and that the whole family communicated with the child in sign language. Allen, 28 Wn. App. at 640-41. The Allen court recognized that a de facto parental relationship had formed between the stepmother and the child. Thus, the court affirmed the trial court’s award of custody of the child to the stepmother following the dissolution of her marriage to the biological father, despite the absence of a finding that the biological father was unfit — because it would have been detr , 783 P.2d 615 (1989) (<HOLDING>); In re Welfare of Hansen, 24 Wn. App. 27, 36,
recognizing that a foster parent may attain the status of psychological parent when the relationship is not temporary in duration and exists with the consent and encouragement of a childs legal parent or guardian holding that psychological parent was not entitled to custody or visitation holding that evidence that parent is victim of spousal abuse and that parent is unemployed living in crowded conditions and had multiple visits to mental hospital was no evidence that awarding custody to parent would significantly impair child recognizing that aunt had become psychological parent of nephew and reversed and remanded for trial and a custody decision under chapter 2610 rcw where the evidence indicated that the biological parent was unable to care for the child holding that the requisites for in loco parentis status are the actual care and custody of a child by a nonparent who assumes parental duties because the parent  generally due to his or her absence  is unable or unwilling to care for the child