Homeless couple questioned by Police about The Health of their child

Mark Reinhardt- Boise Idaho

On a Saturday Evening, a young Homeless couple were questioned by Police about the Health of their child. The Homeless couple was Matt Cohen, and Alina Lovell, who were Panhandling in Downtown Boise Idaho's Bar District.  The Police, were told by a passerby about Health concerns about the child. According to Statistics by The Idaho Housing and Finance Association's Point in Time Count for 2011
 5% of 18-30 year olds are currently Homeless in Idaho and 7% of Persons of Households with Children are currently homeless.

 Credit: Idaho Housing and Finance Association

Statewide Homelessness Count

Credit: Idaho Housing and Finance Association

Percentage of Persons 18-30 Years Old

http://www.ihfa.org/portals/1aefd484-8f22-4f8c-93cd-1c7373969c55/media/grant%20programs/2011%20point-in-time%20count%20report%20final.pdf

In defining the role of Law Enforcement in Child Protection issues, The United States Justice Department states "The role of law enforcement in child abuse cases is to
investigate to determine if a violation of criminal law
occurred, identify and apprehend the offender"
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/162425.pdf

During this night, the mother of the child was standing next to Law Enforcement and Emergency Medical Officials to see if the Child was sick. The Officers of The Boise Police Department had,concerns about the health of the child. In turn, they called The Boise fire Department and The Ada County Paramedics to perform a Child Welfare Check..

The Mother standing with her child next to Emergency Medical Services. To see if the child is sick.

According to a Centers for Disease Control definition used in a Portland Press Herald Report. It reads, "

“Infant mortality is used to compare the health and well-being of populations across and within countries. The infant mortality rate, the rate at which babies less than one year of age die, has continued to steadily decline over the past several decades, from 26.0 per 1,000 live births in 1960 to 6.9 per 1,000 live births in 2000. The United States ranked 28th in the world in infant mortality in 1998. This ranking is due in large part to disparities which continue to exist among various racial and ethnic groups in this country, particularly African Americans.”
http://www.pressherald.com/news/infantdies-atshelter_2011-05-19.html

This is back up by data used by chartsbin.com  According to data used on the website. The Infant Mortality Rate for The United States was ranked as very low, for the year 2011.
http://chartsbin.com/view/1353
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2091.html.
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/socind/health.html.

In an Email statement from Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spokesman Tom Shanahan, he stated, "
"A family can be homeless, but still provide for the health and safety of their children and be good parents. If we assessed the situation and there is abuse or neglect, we take appropriate action to protect the children and help the family."

Further adding, " 
The overriding issue that contributes to many cases of abuse or neglect is drug and alcohol abuse, not homelessness or poverty. Approximately 80% of the abuse and neglect cases we deal with have substance abuse issues."

Saying of Serious Child Abuse Referrals and The Economy, "
We cannot directly link the increase in serious referrals to the struggling economy and high unemployment, but we think it may be a contributing factor."