To investigate the possibility of child endangerment and neglect (educational neglect, for starters, but maybe also medical, dental, nutritional, etc.).

It’s not really in the police’s wheelhouse, but it’s a starting point. They’d probably refer it to DCF to address those issues, who hopefully would send a social worker try to get the family hooked up with services and maybe even emergency housing.

If the adults bringing the kids around panhandling can’t or are unwilling to provide a safe and stable environment for the kids, then the kiddos might have to be placed with adults who can. In that case, pick your poison: the trauma of being separated from your parents or the trauma of persistent food insecurity and who knows what else is going on with adults who subject kids to this.