New initiative announced to help Buffalo children who witness arrest of parents

Buffalo Police will begin formal training later this year, so they may lessen the risk of child trauma in cases during which the youngster witnesses a parent being arrested or engaging with officers in other police matters.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, when speaking of the challenges of policing, said the city has made police reforms and have some underway now, including the one introduced Thursday inside the Community Health Center of Buffalo.

“We think that this program, Safeguarding the Children of Arrested Parents, is critically important to strengthening the community-police relationship,” Brown said. “We think it’s essential to reducing trauma in children in our community, and putting children of parents who have been arrested on a healthier path to success in the community.”

The Osborne Association, which serves individuals and families touched by the criminal justice system, will team with Buffalo Police and, in partnership with the University at Buffalo’s Institute of Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care, train officers while developing a set of policies and protocols for situations when a child is present as an officer needs to make an arrest.

Former US Attorney Denise O’Donnell now serves as a senior advisor for the Osborne Association.

“Our vision, to be really innovative and to attack this problem in a multi dimensional way, was to have a much broader view of how we could implement child-sensitive policing in Buffalo,” she said. “But equally important, to really make a difference in reducing trauma to kids with that experience.”

O’Donnell says the program will focus on Buffalo’s most vulnerable children, including those living in Black and Brown communities that are highly policed and among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.

Read the full article about our new partnership with the Buffalo Police Department to implement the Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents Project here.