State Laws And Let Grow Updates in Georgia
While Georgia’s criminal law does not expressly punish childhood independence, its neglect law is ripe for change.
State Laws And Policies
Criminal Law:
Georgia’s endangerment law at 16-5-60(b), which is intended to criminalize only cases in which a parent “consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk to another person”, has sometimes been misapplied to cases that involve parents allowing their kids to be unsupervised when no conscious disregard or danger has been present.
Juvenile Court | Child Protective Services | Neglect Law:
Georgia Code Ann. § 15-11-2(48)(A) defines neglect as the failure to provide proper parental care or control. Section (B) provides that neglect includes the failure to provide a child with adequate supervision necessary for such child’s well-being. This is a typically vague and subjective law that can be misapplied to parents who allow reasonable independence for their kids.
Disclaimer:
This webpage is not a legal document, and Let Grow does not take responsibility for the content. Be mindful that some localities have rules and guidelines even when the state does not. When in doubt, consult your local authorities to confirm the laws where you live. What’s more, laws change, as do judicial interpretations of them, and this webpage may not be updated immediately.
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Nationwide State Laws And Policies
Learn More About Laws And Policies In Other States
Right now, most states’ neglect laws are incredibly open-ended. They say things like, “Parent must provide proper supervision.” We agree! But people have different ideas of what that entails. Select a state below to learn more about their laws, policies and how Let Grow is helping.