We’ve blogged about the Maryland parents who let their 10 year-old son and 6-year-old daughter walk home from a park by themselves, whereupon they were charged with child neglect. (See this and this.)
Well, the Child Protective Services ruled against them, saying that they were responsible for “unsubstantiated child neglect,” meaning that they are on notice for five years. The parents say they will continue to practice “free range parenting” despite the ruling.
From Free-range parents found responsible for ‘unsubstantiated’ child neglect – The Washington Post:
The Maryland parents investigated for letting their young children walk home by themselves from a park were found responsible for “unsubstantiated” child neglect in a decision that has not fully resolved their clash with authorities over questions of parenting and children’s safety.
Danielle and Alexander Meitiv hoped the nationally debated case — which has lit up social media and brought a dozen television film crews to their Silver Spring home — would be dismissed after a two-month investigation by Montgomery County Child Protective Services.
But the finding of unsubstantiated child neglect means CPS will keep a file on the family for at least five years and leaves open the question of what would happen if the Meitiv children get reported again for walking without adult supervision.
The parents say they will continue to allow their son, Rafi, 10, and daughter Dvora, 6, to play or walk together, and won’t be swayed by the CPS finding.
“We don’t feel it was appropriate for an investigation to start, much less conclude that we are responsible for some form of child neglect,” said Danielle Meitiv, who said she and her husband plan to appeal and worry about being investigated again by CPS.
“What will happen next time?” she asked. “We don’t know if we will get caught in this Kafkaesque loop again.”
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In