A Florida mother has been taken into custody after leaving her three young children home alone for more than a day while she hit the bars in Coral Springs, police said. Daverta Jenkins, age 35, faces charges including three counts of child neglect as the children—aged 12, 6, and 3—were found fending for themselves, according to WSVN.
Police reports indicate Jenkins spent approximately 35 hours attending various parties and consuming alcohol and illegal drugs such as marijuana and cocaine and during this time her eldest child sent numerous texts and made several calls in an attempt to reach their absent mother who didn't respond to the messages; this was including texts asking how to feed the siblings and requests for instruction on cooking basic meals, as reported by BNN Breaking.
The search for Jenkins was initiated after her hungry 12-year-old reached out to a neighbor for help. Following her apprehension, Jenkins admitted to detectives that she wished to have "a day or two of not being a mother," a statement obtained by WSVN outlined. Subsequent tests by law enforcement confirmed the presence of drugs in her system.
After posting a $15,000 bond, Jenkins was released from jail yet remains under court-ordered prohibition from contacting her children, save for certain exceptions as allowed by Child Protective Services or ChildNet along with mandatory drug and alcohol abstinence verified by random testing, this troubling pattern of behavior is not new for Jenkins, who had another child permanently removed from her care in 2008, which WSVN highlighted in their coverage.
Efforts are underway to locate a paternal family member willing to take care of the children, as they are currently in the custody of Child Protective Services, and it remains unclear if a placement has been found, this process is motivated by the need to ensure the children's safety and well-being following their mother's arrest, as noted by BNN Breaking.
