A Florida woman was arrested in May of 2017 after a neighbor became aware of the woman’s 1-yr-old child being left in a drug house.  The neighbor went to the house to inquire about a theft.  Upon entering the home she heard a baby crying.  The child was found in a back room on a mattress laying on the floor next to a large hole.  When she saw the child, dirty and hungry, she immediately took the child and called police.  Residents of the home were under the influence of drugs at the time and further the child’s mother was not present.  Police found and arrested the mother and placed the child in emergency custody of the Department of Children and Families.

Laws for Children’s Emergency Custody

The state of Oklahoma does practice the use of emergency custody.  You can find the statute here:  43 O.S. § 107.4.  Under this law, you must have certain things in order to file for an emergency hearing on custody.  These include either (1) an independent report on the dangers of the child’s living situation from DHS or the police or (2) a notarized statement from a person who has first-hand or personal knowledge of the dangers of the situation.

However, you must include a showing that the situation is likely to cause or has already caused irreparable harm to the child emotionally or physically along with the statement or the report.  Some situations that the law sees as dangerous and likely of causing harm include:

– Drug addiction

– Child Abuse (physical or sexual)

– Neglect or abandonment

– Failure to protect a child from a person who is dangerous

Once you complete the process of gathering your information and filing it with the court, you should expect a hearing within 72 hours.  If a hearing does not occur in this time period, you should notify the court.  The court must hold a hearing within 24 hours of this point.

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Result of Emergency Custody Orders

When a court grants emergency custody, there will be changes in the current custody agreement.  Depending on the severity of the situation you will be subject to certain levels of change.  First, the court will likely change your custody arrangement by limiting visitation time or even changing primary custody to the other party.  Second, the court may also fully terminate your custody.  Either way, you will have to go through certain steps to regain your custody rights.  This may be therapy, parenting classes, and also several supervised visitations.

Claremore Family Attorneys Can Help

Our Claremore Attorneys understand that child custody can be a vicious fight.  If you need help with an emergency custody order, call our offices.  Your first consultation is free.