It all depends on best interest factors. Since there was a relative there and the children were not in the home at the time of his incident, an appropriate relative could go to a domestic relations or family court and file for emergency custody. In cases like that, the court doesn't always require the same level of proof about finances and things of that sort from the relative because it's private. By contrast, if the police performed an emergency removal due to what happened and CPS gets involved, the relatives will need to show they have the means to care for the kids before they are allowed to be placement caregivers. That's because since CPS public, the regulations are more strict than in private custody cases where a government agency is not involved. Even if his mother or sister cannot keep the kids due to a lack of money, most states require CPS to investigate the family tree to see if an appropriate relative in the state is willing to take placement of the children temporarily. If not they go to foster homes on a temporary basis. During that time, Perez would likely be court ordered to complete mental health services for long enough that he shows consistent stability. The court will get updates from CPS periodically to ensure he is compliant with his services. If he complies and gets stable, he can likely get the kids back after several months. If he is not complaint or has more mental health incidents, CPS can ask to give him more time or file for legal custody to a relative or worst case scenario, permanent custody to the state. In most jurisdictions, parents usually get at least one year to rectify their issues and 2 years at most.