Grandparents, aunts/uncles, older brothers or sisters, babysitters — anynumber of persons could be responsible (i.e., caregiver for a minor child).Ask the arrestee to determine if this responsibility for minor children exists.
Disclosing to the parent at the time of arrest the desire to set up a supportive individual of the child's choice prior to calling DHS involvement may be beneficial
Document location of the child(ren) and who they are with, if the child(ren)is/are not with the parent, at the time of arres
AND FOLLOW UP!!
The complexity and level of care required depends on many factors. Foremostamong these factors may be the availability of appropriate family/friends and theage and number of children needing care. Additional factors, such as location,mental and emotional states, and willingness to comply, may also presentcomplications. When possible, officers should take reasonable steps to mitigateknown factors in advance of an arrest. In other instances, prior identification ofresources and review of procedures will mitigate the process and ensure the bestpossible outcome for the child(ren)
Medical complications could also be factored in, as some children have significant medical needs to care for that can not go unaddressed without significant consequences
As defined by SisterSong andoutlined by Derr (2017), reproductive justice is “the humanright of every person to: 1) decide if and when she will havea baby and the conditions under which she will give birth;2) decide if she will not have the baby and her options forpreventing or ending a pregnancy; and 3) parent her childrenwith the necessary social supports in safe environments andhealthy communities and without fear of violence from indi-viduals or the government” (p. 88).
Reproductive ustice
When domestic violence is documented in case files, there are additional complications. Oncedomestic violence is identified, the system expectation is for the mother to end the relationshipwith her abusive partner or be found to have failed to protect her children. The documentationof violence also results in quick movement toward removal of children from the mother’s careand the batterer’s access—even when removal and placement in alternative care is known tobe extraordinarily traumatic for children,
With limited resources available the mother is being expected to access or naturally have and utilize resources to provide for her children and protect them, stablize and heal them, as a single parent or lose her children. If a mother chooses to move her children to the streets because there is not access to shelters and her family cant take her and her children in the children are torn away from the only person with any perspective and lived experience as well as a fully developed brain being able to help them overcome the trauma experienced