1.25.120 Taking a Child into Custody

(a) Any law enforcement officer, or the child welfare coordinator, may take a child into custody under circumstances in which the officer or coordinator reasonably believes:

(1) The child has run away from his or her parents, guardians, or custodians.

(2) The child is suffering from illness or injury or is in immediate danger from his or her surroundings and removal from these surroundings is necessary.

(3) The child will cause injury to self or another, or to the property of another, or be subject to injury by another.

(4) The child's parent, guardian, or custodian, is unavailable, unwilling, or unable to provide necessary supervision or care such that the child's safety or well-being is at imminent risk.

(5) The child will run away or be taken away so as to be unavailable for convenient further Children's Court proceedings.

(6) The child is 60 days old or younger and has been treated for, or diagnosed with, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome by a doctor who is competent to treat or diagnose that condition, or samples of blood, urine or meconium of the child or the mother obtained during pregnancy or shortly after birth indicate the presence of addictive illicit drugs or non-prescribed addictive prescription drugs after analysis using current standards for drug screens.

(b) Any law enforcement officer or the child welfare coordinator shall take a child into custody upon written order of the Children's Court, which may be entered upon a verified petition showing that the welfare of the child demands the child's immediate removal from his or her present placement or custody. A petition for an order to take a child into custody may only be filed by the child welfare coordinator.

(c) Any person taking a child into custody under this section shall immediately attempt to notify the parent, guardian or custodian by the most practical means, and shall continue to make such attempts until notification is made. Any law enforcement officer acting under this section shall also immediately attempt to notify the child welfare coordinator. If the child is physically transferred to the child welfare coordinator, the coordinator shall thereafter continue notification attempts until notification is made.

(d) If the person taking a child into custody, or the child welfare coordinator, believes the child to be in need of prompt medical diagnosis or treatment, that person shall deliver the child to a hospital or physician, for that purpose.