Establishing an Order: I'm Trying to Help My Girlfriend Regain Custody of Her Daughter

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Indiana. Before I got into a relationship with my girlfriend (she's 20, soon too be 21 March 4) she was having a rough time. Her farther commuted suicide which started her turn downhill. She battled depression and slight addiction to pain pills. Her mother wasn't/isn't very supportive and very controlling. My girlfriends daughter is 1 and was taken by agreement (between her & her mother) non court ordered due to my girlfriends overdose. The original agreement was that my girlfriend gets the help needed and after things was handled she could get her daughter back. This was a year ago. Now saying all this..all these things happened before I became her boyfriend. My story is irrelevant all that matters is I love the woman with every bit of power in me. I relate to her in a lot of ways mainly because I was born a orphan. So a lot of things she has/is batteling I also went through and didn't have a single person to help. So I know what it is to feel broken, munipulated,lied on, and forgotten. That will not happen to her. However...my girlfriend is of mixed decent (Mexican & caucasin) coming from Indiana, and I am of mixed decent (African American & Saudi) coming from Chicago. With that being said where we live in Indiana is a very small town and most of her family resides here. So they talk and too be completely honest a lot NOT ALL can be very racist. My girlfriend has be dealing with a great deal of muniplation lately and is fed up. However she is very timid, and it isn't in her nature to really blow up. That's why I'm here. I have witnessed messages between my girlfriend and her mother of countless threats of "never be able to see **** again", and others of that similarities. I can't sit back and continue to watch this disrespect of my girlfriend nor myself. Coming from a person who grew up with no parents. To see & hear a mother speak and act like how she does to her own daughter about her daughter is not only disgusting, but degrading and disrespectful. Not only to my girlfriend but to herself and granddaughter. So this brings me to my main question. How can we go about getting back her daughter. She has never went to court officially..Thank You For Taking Out Time To Read This.

Establishing an Order: I'm Trying to Help My Girlfriend Regain Custody of Her Daughter