OK, @sublime_carrot, some answers. First, the system moves *fast* to get those kids into the hands of the state's child welfare agency and get them placed *fast* with relatives or other known associates 1/
If that can't happen, they again are placed quite quickly with a vetted foster family or at worse, small group home. If a state agency tried to put kids in 1000 bed facility like that, the feds would bring the wrath of god on that state agency 2/
In some states, the kids would have an attorney appointed to represent them if they remained in state care. At the least, states have huge child welfare bureaucracies with case workers to track and manage 3/
The incarcerated parent retains substantial rights to be involved in the child's case -- certainly to be informed on whereabouts, to have input into an court proceedings involving their kids, and even to be transported from jail to the courthouse to participate in hearings 4/
The incarcerated parent, varying by state, might also qualify for state-provided attorney representation in the proceedings (assuming they qualify as indigent) 5/
Getting kid back to the parent, if the parent is fit -- having committed a crime doesn't automatically make you unfit -- is a top priority. States screw up, but for someone to get out of jail and be told, "We're not sure where your kid went, good luck" isn't how it works 6/
In short, steal a car, and your kid:
-- won't be in a tent camp or orphanage
-- won't be thousands of miles away
-- won't have decisions made for them w/o you having legal rights
-- won't be 'lost' and up to you to find when you are released
-- won't be in a tent camp or orphanage
-- won't be thousands of miles away
-- won't have decisions made for them w/o you having legal rights
-- won't be 'lost' and up to you to find when you are released
