What are parental responsibility laws, what is a criticism of these laws? Do you agree or disagree with such laws? Explain
What will be an ideal response?
• Since the early twentieth century, there have been laws aimed at disciplining parents for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the first was enacted in Colorado in 1903, and most states and the District of Columbia maintain similar laws.
• Such laws allow parents to be sanctioned in juvenile courts for behaviors associated with their child's misbehavior.
• Some states require parents to reimburse the government for the costs of detention or care of their children; others demand that parents make restitution payments.
• All states except New Hampshire have incorporated parental liability laws within their statutes, though most recent legislation places limits on recovery. Other states (CO, TX, LA) require parents as well as children to participate in counseling and community service activities.
• Parents may also be held civilly liable, under the concept of vicarious liability, for the damages caused by a child.
• Parents can also be charged with civil negligence if they should have known of the damage a child was about to inflict but did nothing to stop the child—for example, when they give a weapon to an emotionally unstable youth.
• An extreme form of discipline for parents makes them criminally liable for the illegal acts of their children. There have been numerous cases in which parents have been ordered to serve time in jail because their children have been truant from school.
• Civil libertarians charge that these laws violate the constitutional right to due process and seem to be used only against lower-class parents. They find little evidence that punishing parents can deter delinquency. State laws of this kind have been successfully challenged in the lower courts.
• Student view will vary.
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Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
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