State Policies And Updates
State Policy Maps
In 2020, after Utah passed the first “independence for kids” law, Let Grow surveyed the non-criminal neglect laws (under a variety of juvenile court, dependency court, family court and administrative laws) that are enforced by child protection authorities. States use a variety of names for laws that authorize investigations and state action to separate families in cases where children are considered endangered if they remain in their own homes.
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In 2020, Let Grow surveyed the criminal codes of all of the states and the District of Columbia to determine which states authorize criminal penalties against parents who allow their children to be alone. The following map gives an overview of how each state’s criminal law treats cases of unsupervised children children if police are called. (Note: local ordinances may also apply but were not surveyed or included.)
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