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Before the state can act to apprehend a child in a non‑emergency situation, it must apply to the court for a warrant, and may do so on an ex parte basis if notice is not desirable. An ex parte application to an independent and impartial judicial officer for a warrant authorizing the agency to apprehend the child is an important procedural safeguard in the context of non‑emergency apprehension and would provide some assurance to families experiencing a dramatic disruption to their lives at the hands of the state that this disruption is being conducted in a manner that is procedurally fair and constitutionally sound. An independent judicial scrutiny of the appropriateness of the apprehension will also serve to ensure that child protection agencies act on reasonable and probable grounds that they can articulate, before initiating an apprehension in a non‑emergency situation. Furthermore, an impartial review would ensure that apprehension remains a measure of last resort. In this case, an ex parte application would have been possible without creating an unacceptable risk to the infant. There was ample time for the agency to seek a prior judicial authorization of the apprehension, with no risk to the infant, who during this time was in hospital where he and his mother were under medical supervision.
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