anti-cult tendencies in the 70s along with sodomy and custody laws

[musiclily88]

I'm writing a story, and I've been doing some reading and research about cults/communes/compounds/collectives during the 70s in the US. However, I have a few questions, and a lot relate to the government, sodomy laws, and custody laws

Comments

[zellieh]

"the ex-husband trying to take the child during her stay. Is this feasible?"

I can't comment on the specific custody laws, but the reality is, it depends. If her stay is very short, her prognosis is good for a full recovery, and the child is with trusted adults for a few days or couple of weeks, Social Services might not even be notified. If she's going to be in longer, if she's not going to recover completely, if the medical professionals don't like the look of the people the child's been left with, then Social Services might get called in. Depending how they feel about the mother's health issues and the child living with the commune, Social Services might take custody of the child while they track down relatives. (The child would likely be put into care or foster care at this point.) If they find the father, he's employed and housed and respectable, and he has no prior convictions, he'll likely get custody. If he has a conviction for abusing his ex, things change; the child might stay in care at that point, with both parents having to try and sue for custody. If there are other relatives, things can get really complicated. Social Services might argue that the child should be placed with aunts/uncles/grandparents/elder siblings instead.