IACP Working for You: Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents

The arrest of a parent can have a significant traumatic impact on children, including shock, immense fear, anxiety, or anger toward arresting officers. In recent years, an emphasis has been placed on examining the effects of these events on children and the ways in which law enforcement can provide them with assistance—but clear guidance for law enforcement agencies had not yet been made widely available. In 2013, Deputy Attorney General James Cole announced a partnership between the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to address this issue. The culmination of this three-year initiative is the Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents Toolkit for Law Enforcement. Produced by the IACP this toolkit includes all the resources created during the project to help law enforcement agencies and officers reduce the potential trauma experienced by children who have parents that become involved in the criminal justice system.