237 Pa. Code Rule 1202. Procedures for Protective Custody by a Police Officer, Juvenile Probation Officer, and County Agency.

Rule 1202. Procedures for Protective Custody by a Police Officer, Juvenile Probation Officer, and County Agency.

A.  Protective custody.
   1)  No court order.
     a)   A police officer or a juvenile probation officer may take a child into protective custody pursuant to Rule 1200 if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the child is suffering from illness or injury or is in imminent danger from the surroundings and removal is necessary.
     b)   Without unnecessary delay, but no more than twenty-four hours after a child is taken into custody, an application for a protective custody order shall be made to provide temporary emergency supervision of a child pending a hearing pursuant to Rule 1242. The president judge of each judicial district shall ensure that a judge is available twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year to accept and decide actions brought by the county agency within the twenty-four hour period.
   2)  Court order.
     a)   A police officer, juvenile probation officers or county agency may obtain a protective custody order removing a child from the home pursuant to Rule 1210 if the court finds that remaining in the home is contrary to the welfare and the best interests of the child.
     b)   Pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. §  6315 and after a court order, the county agency shall take the child into protective custody for protection from abuse. No county agency may take custody of the child without judicial authorization based on the merits of the situation.
B.  Notice.
   1)  In all cases, the person taking the child into custody immediately shall notify the guardian and the county agency of:
     a)   the whereabouts of the child, unless disclosure is prohibited by court order; and
     b)   the reasons for taking the child into custody.
   2)  Notice may be oral. The notice shall be reduced to writing within twenty-four hours.
C.  Placement. A child shall be placed in an appropriate shelter care facility or receive other appropriate care pending a shelter care hearing pursuant to Rule 1242.

Comment

   A properly commissioned juvenile probation officer has the authority to take a child into protective custody as a duly authorized officer of the court pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. §  6324 unless the President Judge has limited such authority pursuant to Rule 195. See also 23 Pa.C.S. §  6315.
   Under paragraph (A)(1)(a) & (A)(2)(a), the police officer’s or juvenile probation officer’s duty is to protect the child and remove the child safely. A police officer or juvenile probation officer may bring the child to the county agency for supervision of the child pending a court order that should be given immediately. The police officer’s or juvenile probation officer’s duty is to take a child into protective custody if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the child is suffering from illness or injury or is in imminent danger from his or her surroundings, and that protective custody is necessary, whereas the county agency’s duty is to supervise the child and find an appropriate placement for the child when necessary. Only a police officer or juvenile probation officer may take custody of the child without a court order. See Rule 1800 for suspension of 42 Pa.C.S. §  6324, which provides that law enforcement officers may take a child into custody.
   Paragraph (B) is to ensure that if the guardian is not present when the child is removed, the guardian knows the whereabouts of the child and the reasons the child is taken into custody. If the person removing the child is not a caseworker, the county agency is to be notified to commence proceedings in juvenile court.
   Under paragraph (C), a child taken into protective custody is to be placed during the protective custody in an appropriate shelter care facility or receive other appropriate care.
   A conference between the guardian of the child taken into protective custody and the employee designated by the county agency to be responsible for the child should be held within forty-eight hours of the time that the child is taken into custody for the purpose of: 1) explaining to the guardian the reasons for the temporary detention of the child and the whereabouts of the child, unless disclosure is prohibited by court order; 2) expediting, whenever possible, the return of the child to the custody of the guardian when protective custody is no longer necessary; and 3) explaining to the guardian the rights provided for by 42 Pa.C.S. § §  6337, 6338.
   See 42 Pa.C.S. § §  6324 & 6326 and 23 Pa.C.S. §  6369.

   Official Note
   Rule 1202 adopted August 21, 2006, effective February 1, 2007. Amended May 20, 2011, effective July 1, 2011.
   Committee Explanatory Reports:
   Final Report explaining the provisions of Rule 1202 published with the Court’s Order at 36 Pa.B. 5571 (September 2, 2006).
   Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 1202 published with the Court’s Order at 41 Pa.B. 2839 (June 4, 2011).

Source

   The provisions of this Rule 1202 amended May 20, 2011, effective July 1, 2011, 41 Pa.B. 2839. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (326065) to (326066).

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