Area forces join to rescue endangered children

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March 21, 2014 - 12:00 AM

The law can give a voice to a child in need, in danger or in a state of neglect; but oftentimes the right answer is not always the clearest one. One thing always holds true — when in doubt, the children are top priority.
“Handling cases that deal with kids is number one,” Allen County Attorney Wade Bowie said.
Child endangerment cases can be some of the most difficult to prosecute, due to certain “gray areas.” Bowie said the cases are always different, and he and Assistant County Attorney Christopher Phelan must examine the facts separate of any prior situation.
“Everything we do is fact-dependent and we have to evaluate the facts,” Bowie said. “They’re (law enforcement) always going to err on the side of caution.”
Iola Police Chief Jared Warner echoed the sentiment. He said the officers take extra caution with cases involving children, and will do anything in their power to protect them. He said his office has seen 10 cases this year, which is significantly higher than normal. The county attorney’s office has already dealt with 35 cases this year. Of the 35, eight of them are truancy cases, which do not typically result in the child being removed from the home.
The law states that endangerment of a child is a situation where they “may” be in dangerous situation:
Endangering a child is knowingly and unreasonably causing or permitting a child under the age of 18 years to be placed in a situation in which the child’s life, body or health may be endangered.
The next level of charge is “aggravated endangerment,” which essentially replaces the “may be endangered” with “is endangered.”
Bowie said numerous types of situations can qualify as an endangerment case. Recently in the district court, cases have come up involving drug charges and driving under the influence. If a child is surrounded by a drug-making environment — like a methamphetamine lab — Bowie said oftentimes endangerment charges will be filed. However, the level of severity can differ if the drugs or other dangerous objects are readily available to the child or kept away from them.
Phelan said in a circumstance where a driver is under the influence with children in the vehicle, parent or not, endangerment charges will be filed by the county attorney.
It’s environmentally driven,” Phelan said.
But the possibilities don’t end there. Bowie said there can even be considerations if the parents knowingly allow their underage children to be involved with criminal or dangerous activity — some parents may not even make the connection.
Something both attorneys made very clear, endangerment and abuse are two different charges, but are closely related.
“They are next to each other in the statutes,” Bowie said.
An abuse charge is filed only if physical harm comes to the child, and Phelan said the endangerment charges are more common than abuse charges.
“It’s not one of the most common charges,” Phelan said. “Most people want to be good parents.”

A DECISION on whether to charge a defendant is only the first step in the decision making process, and any action from that point forward can and will have an impact on the child.
“The trauma of taking a child out of the home is significant,” Bowie said. “And if there’s not a family member for them to stay with, they will end up with strangers.”
If danger is imminent, both attorneys said the child must be removed from the home as soon as possible — what they called a “child in need of care case,” which is separate from endangerment or abuse. One does not require the other. The end goal is what is best for the child, Phelan pointed out, not to remove the child from the home.
“Reintegration is the case’s goal, we want the child to be back home,” he said.
CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, becomes a part of this process to help the child.
“We’re appointed by district court judges for children who need care during abuse or neglect and in some cases child endangerment,” Aimee Daniels, executive director of CASA said.
Daniels said neglect of a child is when a parent fails to provide for a child. This could be unsanitary conditions, not providing proper clothing, not taking the child to the doctor and refusing services for a child’s disability. Neglect is a civil court case and usually stems from poverty, she said.
“The majority of parents don’t neglect their children on purpose,” Daniels said. “With that being said, sometimes they don’t seek employment or have a drug problem.”
Neglect is usually reported by educators, relatives or daycare providers. In such cases, a petition is drafted as a civil matter. CASA reviews all cases but only take on the most complicated and serious matters.
Warner said the police respond immediately to a child in need of care. They will remove them from the home, and place them in police protective custody, and the advocates take the reins from there.
“We match advocates to a case,” Daniels said. “Some advocates prefer working with a specific age group or some are uncomfortable with certain cases. We try to meet the advocate’s needs as well.”
CASA advocates try to make the child as comfortable as possible and eventually help the child return home. There are 18 advocates at CASA currently.
“There’s a common misconception that we take kids out of the home for no reason,” Bowie added.
The advocate meets with the child face to face at least once a month. Most advocates visit more than once and they attend all the hearings in court. There are also family planning meetings that help the family so the child can return home.
“They stick with them all the way through until the end,” Daniels said. “It creates a close relationship with the children and the advocate.”
If the problems can be fixed immediately, Bowie said he may refer the case to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCF) before any further action is taken. But, oftentimes removal from the home is the best option and the child will be placed into police protective care for up to 72 hours. He said if there is endangerment, that can mean there are “multiple issues in the home” from which the child needs to be removed.

AS BOWIE pointed out, it is not the court’s duty to remove a child from their home, and they have just as much of a duty to not file a charge if the situation does not demand it — and that can be the most difficult part.
“Educating parents is part of it,” Bowie said. The line between endangerment and other things can be blurry, and they need to know as much as possible for both of their sakes.
“I don’t have to file a charge in each situation,” he said. “We want to help maintain the family unit.”
Daniels said there are ways to keep that family unit together. The Department of Children and Family Services does have a voluntary program for parenting skills and classes to give them advice. The program teaches the family how to budget and explains what benefits they have available to them. The Douglas County Citizens Citizens on Alcoholism also has a contract with the DCF to assist a family before problems arise.
“They can go into the home and work with the family and talk about poverty, child behavior and resources,” Daniels said. “If more people sought help there would be less endangerment.”
Both Bowie and Phelan agreed that voluntary action on the parents’ part is the optimal resolution, and something that can be monitored by the courts if need be. But, they also said they will not hesitate to act if they need to.
“We don’t want to do it,” Bowie said. “But we will if we have to.”

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