One story shows how poorly written laws can cost responsible parents their livelihoods.
Published on July 2, 2015, by Jeffrey Schwab of Illinois Policy
Alexander and Danielle Meitiv, the Maryland parents who allowed their two children, ages 6 and 10, to walk home from a nearby park together without parental supervision, were cleared on June 22 of the second set of neglect charges brought against them.
According to a Maryland Department of Human Resources spokesperson, “a child playing outside or walking unsupervised does not meet the criteria for a [Child Protective Services] response absent specific information supporting the conclusion that the child has been harmed or is at substantial risk of harm if they continue to be unsupervised.”
But what about parents in Illinois?
Does the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, or DCFS, agree that it should not investigate and register someone as a child neglector simply for letting her child play or walk outside without adult supervision? Sadly, the answer appears to be no.
Take Natasha, who in the summer of 2013 let her children – ages 5, 9 and 11 – play by themselves in a park adjacent to her apartment with their 9-year-old cousin. Natasha, along with the mother of the cousin and a third friend, were able to see the four children from an apartment window and checked on them every 10 minutes. The children were fine and had been playing for about 30 minutes when a preschool teacher came to the park with her class, assumed the children were completely unsupervised, and placed a hotline call to DCFS, unaware that the children’s mothers were nearby and checking on them regularly.