I am sorry you are in this situation. I have a family member going through this exact same thing. She packed up and left the state with their child when he was in jail for beating her up. She had no family or support where she was and left to come to where she could get support. It's been a long drawn out process so far. She is an amazing mother, but unfortunately the courts felt that she should have gone to a shelter instead of leaving the state. So they ordered the child back with the father even though his parenting skills are more than questionable.

Every situation is different and it's overwhelming to try to navigate the system (and expensive). Please use all the resources you can to get a plan in place to protect yourself and your kids.