Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents

The Hudson Police Department adopted a program to train police officers on the trauma children experience when parents are arrested. A parent’s arrest can have a significant impact on a child’s life, whether or not they are present when it occurs. By understanding these impacts, police can work to reduce them.

• Agency: Hudson Police Department
   
• Location: Hudson, N.Y.
   
• Department size: Small (< 25 Officers)
   
• Practice started: December 2022
   
• Active

Parental incarceration is recognized as an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE). ACEs are a set of potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood, up to the age of 17. Individuals with more ACEs are more likely to struggle with health, instability, or addictive behaviors later in life. Some effects of parental incarceration trauma in children include longstanding confusion and feelings of abandonment because of the sudden absence of a caregiver, and police distrust resulting from negative contacts as a child.

Minimizing childhood trauma resulting from parental arrest and incarceration can build trust with the community and improve community relations with police. How an officer treats a parent, particularly during an arrest, can affect a child’s view of police officers and their own safety. Hudson Police Department adopted the Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents program to reduce and prevent this type of trauma.

Program Description

The International Association of Chiefs of Police developed the Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents program model in 2013 with funding support from the U.S. Department of Justice through its COPS Office. Hudson Police Department, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and community partners, recognized the importance of the program, and adopted the model and trained officers in 2022. In early 2023, they formalized procedures and implementation in the field. The department’s goal is to minimize trauma suffered by a child through training officers to understand the child’s point of view, while maintaining the integrity and safety of police operations, officers, suspects, and other involved individuals during an arrest.

The Osborne Association and consultants provided the training to the department. All existing, sworn employees participated in an introductory, four-hour training, which new officers attend as well. To maintain fidelity to the model, all officers receive one-hour, quarterly training reviews. Components of the training include an overview of child development, tips for effectively communicating with children based on their age, child perceptions of parental arrest and police, trauma response considerations in children/youth, strategies for minimizing child trauma, and real-world examples that apply these lessons.

When police officers arrive on-scene, they assess the situation. Officers first determine if a child is present using information from the dispatcher and indicators on scene, such as toys, diapers, strollers, etc. Whenever possible, officers avoid handcuffing, questioning, or displaying a firearm within a child's sight or hearing; avoid use of force to physically separate a child from a parent; explain what is happening prior to transport; and allow a parent to comfort the child. Officers also may ask if the arrested person cares for a child who is not present and needs arrangements for care.

Officers are trained to be mindful of the effect on children when their parents are arrested. If a child is present, the officer will acknowledge their presence. This involves meeting the children at their level, both physically and verbally. Appropriate actions include interacting sincerely in an age-appropriate way, and, when needed, bending or sitting to talk with children at eye-level. Distracting children with books and toys helps keep them safe and occupied. Officers explain the situation in an age-appropriate way, without making promises that cannot be kept: telling the child that their parent will be home for dinner, for example. Officers should reassure the child that a parent’s arrest is not their fault, the child did not do anything wrong, and their parent will not be hurt.

If a child was present at arrest, the officer completes a form acknowledging a child was present, explaining the events surrounding the arrest, and ensuring that proper protocols were completed. The information helps the department monitor the frequency of children present at the arrest event. If the child is not present, the officer ensures that appropriate arrangements have been made to place the child with a caregiver or appropriate social services. Officers discuss with the arrested parent how the child will be picked up from their present location, and by whom.

The police department discusses program performance and enhancements with partner organizations, maintains written procedures, and holds regular training reviews with all sworn personnel to ensure adherence to the program model.

Funding

The federal COPS Grant funded various aspects of programming, including officer training, and provided resources and referrals to children of arrested parents.

Relevant Partnerships

Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood, Columbia County Department of Social Services, and the Osborne Association are key partners in program implementation. The Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood provides support at each phase of implementation supporting grant applications and organizing education and training for the police department. The Osborne Association is an instrumental partner providing relevant officer training protocols.

Supportive Research

Focusing on the child’s experience is important during a parent’s criminal justice involvement, but particularly at the time of parental arrest. About 65 percent of jailed people in the United States have minor children. Witnessing a parent’s arrest is related to deficient child development and intense negative emotions resulting from being separated from their parent. Witnessing a parent’s arrest is associated with high levels of distress and evidence links children to missed developmental milestones with motor development, language, social and adaptive skills. Early literacy and mathematical skills also are negatively affected. 

Critical Success Factors

• Encourage open-mindedness to this program and training. Listening to other peoples’ perspectives is crucial to addressing all points of view.
   
• Trust program partners and divide responsibilities. One organization cannot sustain every part of program implementation.
   
• Build partnerships with community organizations to provide children places and spaces to process and talk about their experiences, ask questions, etc.
   
• Maintain an official written procedures when adopting this model. Procedures help ensure consistency in officer interactions during arrest situations, provide clarity and standardization in practice, prevent escalation, and strengthen officer confidence.
   
• Provide regular training refreshers and ensure policy and implementation strategies are accessible after training helps sustain program fidelity.
   
• Supervise officers and provide guidance. Explain the importance of the policy, provide advice on strategies, and demonstrate best practices.

The U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance and the International Association of Chiefs of Police published an official program model guide. It contains guidance in many facets of program implementation such as interagency coordination, staff training and regular meetings with partner programs, information about legal responsibilities, designation of a liaison for following up on the child, and more.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police also published a publicly available toolkit which includes a short introductory video, classroom training resources, webinars, and other helpful reference information about the Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents model.

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Published 09/2024