should abused kids be locked up?

[milky]

I read on the net that sometimes kids who'd been abused/orphaned end up in juvenile hall or in a prison cell in the police station for the only reason that there are no foster homes or beds in shelters that are available in the area.

I dont know if this is true. asked in several law forums, and no one actually knows... However, I really want to know how people feel about this and what everyone wants.

I mean kids that are NOT runaways, not running around with criminals, not self harming or danger to others. Good kids who go to school and do what they're told. Simply because they're unfortunate enough not to have relatives who're willing/able to care for them, and to have been in a rural county that has no cps or enough homse/shelters around, and it's the middle of the night, and the nearest cps is hours drive away.

Should the cops put them in a holding cell in the police station, or juvenile hall, let's say they're supervised and separated from criminals, in a cell with other non-violent kids like themselves, till a replacement is found?

Or should the cops allow those kids to wait in the break room till a social worker arrives? and then the social workers ordered to call every foster home/shelter in the country, (not the county - the whole country) and let them sleep in cps for days if there's no place available? (it's legal, they do it in Pima county. was in the news. They're supervised by social workers.)

If locked up, should those kids be allowed to walk in the building and yard freely while the violent prisoners are locked up? should they be allowed to take the bus to town during the day, an open prison?

Or should they be locked up in their cells?

If it were up to you, you would

 

[MHz]

Put them up in places that now only house the very elderly.
The old people will like the sound of laughter over the dead silence that now rules those places. The utilities are already paid so a cot and some food and donated clothing would be about all that is needed as an extra expense.

 

[JLM]

Put them up in places that now only house the very elderly.
The old people will like the sound of laughter over the dead silence that now rules those places. The utilities are already paid so a cot and some food and donated clothing would be about all that is needed as an extra expense.

Excellent idea, MHz BUT some of the residents at Seniors facilities suffer from dementia and can be on rare occasions quite violent. It would only be a matter of time before a child is seriously injured or worse. As lovable as children are they can try the patience of impatient people.