How to protect your child · St. Louis and across Missouri
If your child is in immediate danger, call 911. To report suspected child abuse or neglect, call the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-392-3738, answered 24 hours a day.
A child order of protection is a Missouri court order that protects a child from domestic violence by a present or former household member, or from stalking or sexual assault by anyone.
A parent or guardian can file for one on the child’s behalf. A judge can enter a temporary ex parte order the same day if the petition shows an immediate and present danger, and a full order can follow after a hearing.
The rule that surprises many parents. If a custody order already exists, or a custody case is pending, between you and the person you need protection from, a judge can’t enter an emergency ex parte child order against that person. A full order after a hearing is still possible, but it can’t change custody.
This page explains how child orders work, what you have to prove, and what to do when a custody case is involved. Bardol Law Firm represents parents in child order of protection cases in St. Louis County, the City of St. Louis, St. Charles County, and Jefferson County.
- Who Can a Child Order of Protection Be Against?
- Who Can File, and Where
- The Emergency Ex Parte Order
- When There’s Already a Custody Order or Custody Case
- What You Have to Prove at the Full Hearing
- What a Full Order Can Include
- If You’ve Been Served With a Child Order of Protection
- How Bardol Law Firm Helps
- Frequently Asked Questions About Child Orders of Protection
Who Can a Child Order of Protection Be Against?
A child order of protection is available for a child “who has been subject to domestic violence by a present or former household member or sexual assault or stalking by any person” (Section 455.505.1 RSMo).
Domestic violence requires a present or former household member, such as a parent, a stepparent, a parent’s partner, or a relative who lives or lived in the home.
Stalking or sexual assault can be by anyone, such as a neighbor, a coach, an adult the child met online, or a parent’s ex. Missouri courts have recognized that the child protection law covers stalking of a child by people outside the household, as in S.N.L. v. A.B., 550 S.W.3d 514 (Mo. App. E.D. 2017).
A parent can be the respondent, including a parent who knowingly exposes the child to someone dangerous. In Hanger v. Dawson, 584 S.W.3d 798 (Mo. App. W.D. 2019), the court upheld an order against a father who let a grandmother the court found was a credible threat keep living at and entering the home where his son stayed, in violation of the court’s earlier order.
If the respondent is under 17, the judge may issue an ex parte order but must transfer the case to juvenile court for the full order hearing (Section 455.513.4).
For protection for yourself as an adult, see our guide to orders of protection in St. Louis.
Most parents file for a child order of protection before they know whether a custody order blocks the emergency order.
What to say, what to sign, whether to move out, how to handle the kids’ schedule. One hour with an experienced Bardol Law Firm attorney before you decide can save you from choices that are hard to undo later. You will leave understanding your rights, your options, and what to do next.
$300 · One full hour · No obligation to hire us
Who Can File, and Where
A petition can be filed by a parent or guardian of the child, a guardian ad litem or court-appointed special advocate appointed for the child, or the juvenile officer. It is filed in the county where the child lives, where the incident happened, or where the respondent can be served (Section 455.503). A child’s right to protection isn’t affected by leaving the home to avoid domestic violence, and an order is effective statewide (Section 455.505.2 and .3).
There’s no cost to the parent who files. “No filing fees, court costs, or bond shall be assessed to the petitioner” (Section 455.504.2). The Eastern District has held that guardian ad litem fees count as court costs a petitioner can’t be charged, in S.N.L., applying In re G.F., 276 S.W.3d 327 (Mo. App. E.D. 2009). Court clerks must also explain the filing procedures to parents without a lawyer, at no cost (Section 455.504.1).
The Emergency Ex Parte Order
A judge may immediately issue an ex parte order “for good cause shown in the petition,” and “[a]n immediate and present danger of domestic violence, including danger to the child’s pet, stalking, or sexual assault to a child shall constitute good cause” (Section 455.513.1). The ex parte order lasts until the hearing.
An ex parte child order can include terms the court considers necessary for the child’s safety. It can restrain the respondent from abuse, stalking, or “disturbing the peace of the victim,” from entering the child’s home, and from communicating with the child. It can also include “[a] temporary order of custody of minor children” and possession of pets (Section 455.520).
What happens when it’s entered
When the court enters an ex parte order, it must appoint a guardian ad litem or court-appointed special advocate to represent the child.
If the allegations would bring the case within the juvenile court’s jurisdiction, the court may direct the Children’s Division to investigate and provide services, with a written report due within 30 days.
One hour. Your child’s safety. A petition that holds up.
For $300, sit down one-on-one with an experienced Bardol Law Firm family law attorney. We will dig into your specific situation, explain your rights and options in plain English, and map out practical next steps. This is a working strategy session, not a sales pitch, and you leave with real value whether or not you hire us.
$300 · One full hour with an attorney · No obligation to retain our firm
When There’s Already a Custody Order or Custody Case
This is where child orders most often go wrong.
A judge may issue a child ex parte order only on finding that “[n]o prior order regarding custody involving the respondent and the child is pending or has been made,” or that the respondent is under 17. So if you and the other parent have a custody judgment, or a divorce, paternity, or custody case is pending, the emergency child order isn’t available against that parent.
After a full hearing, the court may award custody only when “no prior order regarding custody is pending or has been made,” as Hanger applied it.
The parents shared custody under an existing judgment. The full order barred the father from having the child at his home, where the grandmother lived, but didn’t change when or how long he had the child.
The court held that was protection, not a custody award, and upheld it.
What to do instead in an emergency. When a custody order exists or a case is pending, the emergency tool is usually a temporary restraining order in the custody or divorce case, which can restrict a parent’s time until a hearing. See emergency custody in Missouri for how to choose.
What You Have to Prove at the Full Hearing
The full hearing must be held within 15 days after the petition is filed, unless the court continues it for good cause, and the respondent must be personally served at least three days before. It can be open or closed, whichever is in the child’s best interest (Section 455.516.1 and .2).
The full hearing is where the order is won or lost. The petitioner must prove the allegations by a preponderance of the evidence (Section 455.516.1, as applied in S.N.L.). Missouri appellate courts look closely at these orders, and two Eastern District cases show what judges need.
For stalking, your alarm as a parent counts. Stalking requires a purposeful, unwanted course of conduct that causes “alarm,” meaning fear of danger of physical harm. A young child may not recognize danger, so the law lets the alarm of a person living with the child, such as a parent, satisfy that element. “A parent’s reasonable alarm is sufficient,” the court said in S.N.L.
Online stalking counts. Since 2021, the stalking definition’s “course of conduct” expressly includes acts in which the stalker “directly, indirectly, or through a third party follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to a person by any action, method, or device” (Section 455.010(15)). Tracking apps, repeated messages, and social media contact can all be part of the pattern.
The parent’s alarm counted, but the order was still denied. The respondent was the subdivision’s property manager, had a legitimate reason to be in the neighborhood, and had taken one photo of the child. Stalking requires intent, no legitimate purpose, and a course of conduct of two or more acts.
In this City of St. Louis case, 597 S.W.3d 779, the court reversed a child order because the guardian’s testimony was conclusory, a bare “yes” when asked about threats, and “Harm, harm” when asked what she feared.
A neighbor sheltering a runaway teen against the guardian’s wishes “may constitute parental meddling,” but it isn’t stalking without fear of physical harm. The court warned that these laws aren’t a “panacea for minor arguments that frequently occur between neighbors.”
Evidence that helps
Dates and specific descriptions of each incident, including what was said or done, and where
Messages, social media posts, photos, and call logs
Police reports and any Children’s Division contact
Medical, school, or counseling records showing injuries or effects on the child
Witnesses who saw incidents firsthand
Your own testimony explaining specifically what you feared and why
No parent should go into a protection order hearing without understanding their options.
That is why Bardol Law Firm handles family law and nothing else. We spend every day in these courts, and we explain things in plain English. So we built a one-hour strategy session with you, an experienced attorney and your actual case, with clear next steps by the end.
$300 · One full hour with an attorney · No obligation to retain our firm
What a Full Order Can Include
A full order can bar the respondent from domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, molesting, or disturbing the child’s peace, from entering the child’s home, and from communicating with the child “in any manner or through any medium,” except as the court authorizes (Section 455.523.1). Under Section 455.523.2, the court may also do these things.
Award custody (only when no prior custody order is pending or has been made) and visitation
Award child support
Order the respondent into a court-approved counseling or substance-abuse program, and to pay treatment costs, including the child’s, to the extent able
Transfer the children’s cell phone numbers to the petitioner
Award possession and care of a pet
If You’ve Been Served With a Child Order of Protection
Follow the order exactly, including any no-contact terms, until the court changes it. Contact through friends, relatives, or social media can violate it.
Prepare for the hearing. It’s your opportunity to present evidence, and the petitioner has to prove the case. If a custody order already exists, a child order still can’t change custody, but its other terms can restrict how and where you see your child, as Hanger shows. Get legal advice before the hearing, especially if a custody case is involved.
How Bardol Law Firm Helps
Bardol Law Firm handles family law only, in St. Louis County, the City of St. Louis, St. Charles County, and Jefferson County. We help parents decide whether a child order of protection, a restraining order in a custody case, or both fit their situation, prepare a specific, well-supported petition, and present the evidence at the full hearing. We also represent parents responding to child orders, and we handle the custody case that often follows. See how to get full custody in Missouri and supervised visitation in Missouri.
Your case is handled by one of our attorneys, Ann Vatterott Bruntrager, Denise N. Gabel, Mikayla Butler or Anna Palmer.
Not sure how this applies to your situation?
Bardol Law Firm handles family law and nothing else, in St. Louis County, St. Louis City, St. Charles County and Jefferson County. We return calls from potential clients as quickly as possible, and usually within minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions About Child Orders of Protection
Can I get an order of protection against my child’s father or mother?
Yes, if the child has been subject to domestic violence by that parent as a present or former household member, or to stalking or sexual assault. But if a custody order exists or a custody case is pending between you, the emergency ex parte order isn’t available against that parent, and a full order can’t change custody. A restraining order in the custody case is often the faster tool.
Does my child have to testify?
Not necessarily. Testimony from parents and other witnesses, along with records, can carry the case, and for stalking, a parent’s reasonable alarm can satisfy the fear element. When a child’s account matters, the court may allow an in camera videotape of the child’s testimony, and Missouri’s child-hearsay statute applies to statements by children under 14 (Section 455.516.1). The hearing can also be closed if that’s in the child’s best interest.
How long does a child order of protection last?
At least 180 days and not more than one year, with renewals in the same range. The court can make a one-year order renew automatically unless the respondent asks for a hearing at least 30 days before it expires.
How much does it cost to file?
Nothing for the petitioner. Missouri law bars filing fees, court costs, and bond for petitioners in child protection cases, and guardian ad litem fees count as court costs.
What if the person is a teenager?
If the respondent is under 17, the judge may enter an ex parte order but must transfer the case to juvenile court for the full order hearing.
Can a child order of protection change custody?
Not when a custody order already exists or a custody case is pending. It can include protective terms, such as where visits can happen, as long as it doesn’t change the custody schedule.
This page provides general information about Missouri law and is not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the specific facts. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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