Child abandonment and unattended children: At what age does being left home alone turn into an issue of child abandonment?
What is child abandonment?
When we hear child abandonment, we often think of a mother dropping an infant off on a stranger’s porch or leaving without a young child to go out for the evening. However, while these are possible examples of child physical abandonment in Ohio, parents should be aware there are also other forms of abandonment aside from the physical.
Parents can be found financially abandoning their child, in ways such as not making child support payments. It is not enough to miss one payment and is generally a period of at least 90 days.
Too young to be home alone?
The question of physical child abandonment becomes not only a legal question but a psychological one, too. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the majority of social workers found that a child should be at least 12 years old before being left alone for four or more hours. This is often the age at which most kids gain enough maturity, but this is also based on environmental factors and other things.
If called upon in cases of child neglect, most social workers will use this age and time measure to determine if the child has been neglected, especially if the child is injured or faced danger while left alone.
My ex left our child home alone–do I have a custody case?
The Ohio Domestic/Family courts have rights to terminate residential parent status and to terminate shared parenting plans when abandonment does occur.
In order to petition for the termination of parental rights, the petitioning party must prove that termination of parental rights is in the best interest of the child. To prove this, the other parent, grandparent, family member, or guardian must show:
– Evidence of child abuse or neglect;
– Sexual abuse;
– Abandonment by the parent;
– Failure to provide support or maintain contact with the child for at least ninety days;
– A long history of substance abuse; or
– Incarceration
Simply finding out your ex left your child home alone for a short period of time is probably not enough to terminate the parental relationship.