Ensuring The Safety Of Children In Homes Haunted By Substance Abuse

Traditionally, child custody cases are part of divorce proceedings. Each state has its laws on determining which parent gains custody. The overall rule is that decisions are made for what is deemed to the best for the child. The child’s physical, financial, emotional, and mental well-being takes priority in anything.

This becomes especially apparent when child services are called for endangerment cases. Even if the parents have no intention of dissolving their marriage, children can be taken away if it found that the parents are unfit to take care of their child. Many factors are considered.

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Criminal law prosecutors are seeing an increasing trend of children growing up in homes haunted by substance abuse. These are normally more challenging to handle because there is normally no evidence of direct contact with the child. That is, drug paraphernalia or alcoholic bottles can be found littered in the homes, but children are often not the ones being injected with the drug or alcohol. If they are, these children rarely admit it, in fear of their parents. Similarly, parents or guardians never admit to harming the child directly. Many cases have paraphernalia but no actual harm.

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Another difficult aspect of these types of cases is that these are very rarely reported. Children often grow up in these environments and do not consider it strange or unusual. For those who do suffer from these conditions, children are often told by their parents not to report it to authorities.

What can be done is for teachers and neighbors to notice any drastic changes in children’s behavior or appearance. Even inhaling toxic fumes from certain drugs can manifest themselves in a child’s demeanor. Additionally, friends and families should carefully monitor drug or alcohol addicts who are taking care of very young children.

Atty. Micheal J. Donohue of Allentown, Pennsylvania is part of the trusted team at DONOHUE LAW. This firm specializes in criminal law and misdemeanor acts. Learn more when you visit this website.

An Primer On Disorderly Conduct

Briefly defined, disorderly conduct pertains to behaving in a disruptive manner. It is a broad term that describes a person’s actions that disturb others’ morals, safety, or health.

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Most states have their own disorderly conduct laws. Some state laws note that it is a crime to appear drunk in public. Other states charge people who fight on streets. The use of offensive language, catcalling, or loitering can also be described as an unruly conduct in some states. Members of the police often charge a person with disorderly conduct when they behave in an obnoxious manner, even without being a danger to the public.

Those charged with disorderly conduct are either asked to pay a certain fine or are brought to a local jail or precinct with a required bail. Penalties vary depending on the action done by the offender.

Offenders are first asked to stop the behavior as soon as a problematic situation arises. If the behavior escalates, witnesses can contact the police to report the situation. In most cases, police presence or involvement helps stop the behavior. But if the actions do not help, legal counsel may be necessary.

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Charged with disorderly conduct? Michael J. Donohue such lawsuits and other misdemeanor cases. Atty. Donohue is a criminal defense lawyer based in Allentown, Pennsylvania and the head of the law firm DONOHUE LAW. For more on Atty. Donohue and his legal practice, visit this website.