Reply to Free-range kids picked up AGAIN by police

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Those parents are crazy, or they are seeking publicity. It costs a fortune to bring or defend a civil lawsuit. They are in a p****ing contest with a fire hydrant. The police can just watch the house and keep picking up the kids and building their case, which does not cost the police a dime. In the meantime, the case builds against the parents. Just defending it would cost more than a legal babysitter. The police obviously feel they have some grounds to take the kids into custody. CPS can decide to take the kids while the court decides. The parents should watch out, unless they want the state to provide some free babysitting.  [/quote]

[b]Build their case for what? That the parents let the kids walk home from the park? Do you think that's something the police and CPS should focus their resources on? And do you think it would be in the best interests of the kids to go into foster care[/b]?[/quote]

None of that matters. It matters to you, and you think you can argue it. But when the police start picking up your kids, lawsuits start flying, the best interest of the child goes out the window. It has already happened. and [b]leaving a 6 year old with a 10 year old unattended at a park is against the law in MD[/b]. So far the police have not pressed charges.[/quote]

The law refers to kids being in a home, car or building, right? So if you apply it to a park, does it also apply to anyplace outdoors where an adult is present? I am not being snarky -- I'm genuinely uncertain. I frequently see young children walking to and from school with no adult. Kids under the age of 11 play outside without an adult present. Are these things illegal in Maryland? Surely I'm not the only person confused by this.[/quote]

The way it works in MD (and in the law in general) is that there are two sets of applicable law, one narrow and one  broad, plus additional regulatory interpretations.

First, the MD code generally prohibits child neglect, and defines neglect to include "leaving child unattended or failure to give proper care and attention."  MD Code 5-701.  CPS further defines "unattended child" under this statute as, inter alia, a "child who has been abandoned" or a child under the age of 8 who has been left in the care of a child younger than 12.  It also specifically says that children from ages 8-12 "may not be left to care for children under the age of 8."  MD Screening Procedures SSA 95-13.  http://www.mccpta.com/parentInvolve_dir/prin_hb_0910/G_Safety_Security_and_Health/03b-MontgomeryCountyDHHSChildWeflareServices.pdf.

Second, the MD code gives a specific example of leaving unattended children confined to buildings and cars - this is prohibited unless they have a babysitter older than 13.  MD Code 8-101. Since there is no allegation here of the kids being left unattended in a building or car, this section does not apply.

The Meitev's allowing their 10 year old to be in charge of their 6 year old would appear to trigger the MD screening procedures, which interpret the MD Code's general prohibition on child neglect.  5-701.  So at a minimum, a report of a 6 year old left in the care of a 10 year old (whether in a building or not) is going to trigger a CPS investigation at a minimum.  It may not be a per se finding of neglect, because SSA 95-13 does not appear to be an administrative rule with the force of law, but rather an agency interpretation of its own procedures. But it definitely means that every official in this case acted properly and within the governing law & regs to investigate reports of a 6 year old left in the care of a 10 year old.

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