No Good Choice for Unemployed Mother

Shanesha Taylor, a 35-year-old single mother, was arrested on felony child abuse charges in March after Scottsdale, AZ, police found two of her children, then ages 6 months and 2 years, in a locked 2006 Dodge Durango.
Police estimate the car’s internal temperature exceeded 100 degrees when they found the children. The car’s windows were partially open. Although the keys were in the ignition and the air conditioner was on, the engine was shut off. The children were unharmed.
Taylor, who would frequently sleep in the car when she had no other place to stay, was doing a job interview at an insurance agency when police discovered her children. According to the New York Times, the job interview lasted for 70 minutes.
In her exclusive conversation with that paper, Taylor explained the harsh economic situation that led to her decision to leave her children in the car. Taylor’s monthly income was $1,232 including government aid, while her monthly expenses to care for herself and her children totaled $1,274. The job she was interviewing for offered a first-year salary of $39,000.
Taylor told the newspaper that she spent the evening before the interview asking people in parking lots for money so she would have enough to pay for the 35-mile drive that would get her there. When Taylor arrived at her babysitter’s home the morning of her interview she found the house empty. Not wanting to cancel the interview, Taylor decided to keep the kids in the car.
After police discovered the children, Taylor was charged with two counts of felony child abuse with a potential combined sentence of 14 years in prison. According to KidsandCars.org, roughly 38 children die every year from heat stroke caused by being left in vehicles.
Taylor’s situation has triggered public pushback. More than 50,000 people signed a petition asking police to drop the charges. After 10 days in jail, Taylor was freed on $9,000 bail that strangers paid.
But in March, Taylor lost custody of her three children, who are being cared for by a relative. Her nine-year-old was in school at the time of the incident. Despite the $100,000 that the public has contributed to her cause, Taylor shared her pervasive pain during her interview with the Times, saying, “Truth be told, I stay inside and I cry because I don’t have my children.”
Taylor said the money she has received is being used to create a stable environment for her children. Her next custody hearing is scheduled for this month.