Pick the one that fits. Everything saves automatically.
Call the facility and confirm they are in custody. Ask for the booking number, charges, and bail status.
"My name is ___. I am calling to confirm that ___ is currently in custody at your facility. I need their booking number, the charges listed, and whether bail has been set. Can you provide that information?"
If you already know the facility, search their inmate lookup website. Most county jails have a "Who's In Jail" page you can search by name.
A habeas corpus petition asks the court to require the jail to justify why they are holding someone. It is your most powerful tool for getting someone released.
For other states: search "[your state] habeas corpus petition form" or contact your state court's self-help center.
Contact your state bar's lawyer referral service. Many offer free 30-minute consultations.
ABA Lawyer Referral Directory"I need emergency help with a habeas corpus petition. A family member is being held in [county] jail on [misdemeanor/contempt] charges and I believe their bail or detention may not be lawful. Can you refer me to an attorney who handles emergency criminal or civil rights matters?"
If government overreach or civil rights violations are involved.
Find Your State ACLU"I am calling about a potential civil rights issue. A family member is being detained without lawful bail on misdemeanor charges. We believe this may involve judicial retaliation or First Amendment issues. Is this something your office would review?"
Free representation for qualifying families.
Find Legal Aid Near YouWrite down what happened while it is fresh. This saves automatically.
Most jails use a commissary service. The detained person needs funds for phone calls (to reach you and their attorney), hygiene items, and food.
Common commissary services:
Call the facility to confirm which service they use and the person's booking number.
Thousands of parents have been through exactly this. Some of them are on the other side now, and they left a trail for you to follow. You are not alone.
Under the Adoption and Safe Families Act (1997), states receive $4,000-$10,000+ in federal bonuses for every child adopted from foster care over a target number. The government spends 10x more on foster care and adoption than on reunifying families.
This creates a financial pipeline: CPS investigates → children removed → parental rights terminated → adoption → federal bonus. Court-appointed evaluators, attorneys, and social workers all bill the process. Some evaluators charge $1 million+ per year.
Read: NCCPR Issue Paper #12 — Financial Incentives (free)
Read: "Government Spends 10x More on Foster Care Than Reunifying"
Documentary exposing the $50B/year family court industry. Narrated by Dr. Drew. IMDb 8.0. ~$4 rental.
Watch on Amazon →Free documentary from Center for Judicial Excellence. Parents whose lives were destroyed.
Watch Free →Podcast by Stand With Meg. She lost 5 kids. 62K followers. Interviews survivors and reformers.
Listen Free →Free guide covering what to do RIGHT NOW when CPS is at your door.
Read Free →50,000+ people. Anonymous. 24/7. Post your situation and get responses from people who've been there.
Go Now →250,000 person community. Founded by Tina Swithin. Books, courses, support forums.
Join Free →62K followers. Data dashboard tracking families. Submit your data. Find others in your county.
Report Your Case →Parent-to-parent mentorship program. Trauma-informed. Free.
Get a Mentor →Court-ready documents, step-by-step coaching. "What you're about to learn is not in the court handbook."
Get Coaching →Free webinar replays teaching parents to represent themselves. Founded by an attorney.
Watch Free →Free AI case management. Upload documents, auto-extracts dates and parties, drafts court-ready filings with real citations.
Try Free →Free courses on self-representation in family court. Covers legal filing, evidence, emergency orders.
Take Course →Do NOT leave the jurisdiction with the children. If you flee, the court will use it against you. Stay home. Stay calm. If police or CPS arrive, you have rights.
Not one word. Not one photo. Not a vague status update. Anything you post can and will be used against you in court. Tell your family the same thing.
You have the right to have an attorney present. If CPS shows up, say:
"I want to cooperate fully, but I need my attorney present before I answer any questions or allow entry. When can we schedule a time with my attorney?"
Right now, before anything gets deleted. Every text message. Every email. Every voicemail. Save them to a folder on your phone named "Evidence-".
Right now, while it is fresh. This saves automatically.
Emergency representation for custody matters.
ABA Lawyer Referral"I need emergency representation in a custody matter. CPS is involved and I need to know my rights and what to file immediately. Can you take this on an emergency basis?"
Free representation for qualifying families.
Find Legal AidGovernment overreach or civil rights issues.
Find Your ACLUAsks the court to pause any custody change until a full hearing.
Open Motion GeneratorGeneral legal document templates.
Open Document GeneratorWhere to file: Your county's Superior Court or Family Court clerk's office. Bring 3 copies. Ask the clerk: "Is there a way to get an emergency hearing today?"
You have the legal right to represent yourself in court. The court must treat you the same as a licensed attorney. Here are the key terms you need:
Voice or text. ARAYA extracts the people, dates, evidence, and patterns from your narrative.
Tell Your Story →Upload and organize documents, photos, recordings. Tag by type and date.
Evidence Tracker →Speak your timeline. ARAYA organizes it into events, actors, deadlines, and patterns.
Voice Intake →Motion templates, demand letters, complaints. Fill in your details, download, file.
Documents →Your case profile becomes searchable by attorneys looking for pro bono cases to take.
Create Case Profile →You are not alone. See how other cases match yours. Same judges. Same playbook. Same county.
View Cases →Join the network of people fighting back.
Sign Up →Building AI that works without internet. Sovereign technology.
Learn More →3-5 minutes. Voice or text. Your experience goes into THE RECORD and helps attorneys see the pattern across cases.
Tell Your Story →You know which judges to watch, which attorneys to avoid, which CPS workers to document. That knowledge saves families.
Sign Up to Help →See a case on THE RECORD that matches your experience? Add what you know. Your pattern data strengthens their case.
View Active Cases →Someone going through what you went through needs to hear from someone who survived it. Not legal advice — human advice.
Volunteer as Mentor →Court records tell you what happened. Survivors tell you how it happened — the unwritten rules, the informal pressure, the things that never make it into a filing. When 50 survivors from the same county describe the same pattern, that is evidence no court record can provide.
Your experience is not anecdotal. It is pattern data. When ARAYA extracts the actors, timelines, and tactics from your story, it cross-references against every other story in the system. The same judge showing up in 47 stories is not coincidence — it is a Monell pattern that can be used in federal civil rights litigation.
Help build the technology that makes the system transparent.
Learn More →Connect with other survivors and builders.
Join Discord →