National Center for Policy Analysis

MONTH IN REVIEW

Crime

April,1996

JUVENILE MISCHIEF AND PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

States and cities are rushing to enact laws holding parents of juvenile offenders responsible for the crimes or delinquencies of their children.

• About half the states have passed laws in the past few years either to toughen existing sanctions or add new ones, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
• In 1995, at least ten states passed so-called parental responsibility laws that allow fines or even imprisonment.
• Parents in Idaho may be forced to pay detention costs for a juvenile; and West Virginia parents can be fined up to $5,000 if their child defaces a public building.
• In Louisiana, parents can be found guilty of "improper supervision of a minor," fined up to $1,000 and jailed for up to six months if their child associates with a convicted felon, drug dealer or members of a street gang.

Towns and cities have also been cracking down.

• Dozens of suburban Chicago towns have passed laws aimed at parents who condone alcohol abuse, or curfew or weapons violations.
• A South Carolina judge last year even ordered a mother tethered to her daughter, who was charged with shoplifting, truancy and burglary.

But legal experts say the laws are applied most commonly to compel counseling or education programs for parents.

Source: Peter Applebome, "Holding Parents Responsible As Children's Misdeeds Rise," New York Times, April 10, 1996.