State Laws And Let Grow Updates in Georgia

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 who allow their kids to be unsupervised when no conscious disregard or danger has been present. This occurred in Brittany Patterson’s case in 2024, which led to sweeping reform of Georgia’s neglect law enacted in 2025 which should also apply to the criminal law. While the endangerment law contains strong language that should protect parents if properly applied, Georgia’s criminal law defining “reckless conduct” now has additional language that expressly protects parents from criminal prosecution, stating that “Allowing a child to engage in independent activities as defined in Section 15-11-12, which is not considered neglect within the meaning of that Section, shall not be considered reckless conduct (under 16-5-60 (b) of the Georgia criminal code.”

Legislation promoted by Let Grow in 2025 makes significant changes in Georgia Code Ann. § 15-11-2(48)(A), which defines child neglect. The law now directly protects parents from being charged with neglect if they allow their child to engage in “independent activities” as long as those activities do not endanger a child’s health or safety by putting the child in a situation that requires judgment or actions beyond such child’s level of maturity, physical abilities, or mental abilities and thereby creating a real, significant, and imminent risk of harm to the child as a result of a blatant disregard for such legal custodian’s responsibilities.  Neglect has been further defined as a lack of “necessary” care rather than the more subjective definition that allowed lack of “proper” care to be investigated by child welfare authorities.

Read about the process of passing Georgia’s law.

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.