For the past day, amidst news reports and blogs covering Governor Walker’s Budget Bill and the Madison protests, one particular story seems to have captivated its audiences and caused a number of heated debates. The story: A 2-year-old forgotten overnight at Milwaukee area McDonald’s. According to Jennifer Tomazic of CBS58 News:
"Milwaukee Police say at least 10 kids and adults were dining at the McDonald's at Potter and Kinnikinnick Sunday afternoon and the toddler was apparently left there.
When the family got home, police say all the kids scattered and went to bed an no one noticed the little girl wasn't there.
It wasn't until Monday morning when the 2-year-old's aunt saw her picture on television that she alerted the girl's mother that she was missing."
As of this morning, the child remains in custody of the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare as workers investigate her parents and the circumstances surrounding this incident.
The Debate: Are the parents guilty of neglect? With strong opinions on both sides, respondents have expressed their recommendations for the future of the 2-year-old girl. Ranging from an immediate termination of parental rights to more empathetic responses excusing the parent’s oversight.
A quick Internet search will surely uncover a plethora of cases in which parents were charged with neglect after leaving their toddlers unattended or alone for a period of time. However, a notable difference is, that the majority of those toddlers were either left intentionally or those incidents tragically ended in the child’s death. Clearly those factors differ greatly from this particular case, as it would appear that the child was allegedly left by mistake, there are no prior indications of abuse, and the child was not harmed as result of her parent’s carelessness.
A Review of Negligence Law. According to Federal law, negligence of a child is defined as a failure to use ordinary care either by act or omission, or failing to exercise the amount of care that a reasonably careful person would use in a similar circumstance, or doing something that a reasonably careful person would not do under similar circumstances. Additionally, in order for charges to be justified, the child must have suffered injury as result of their negligent treatment.
Christine Tetreault informs, when investigating a case of alleged negligence, police or child protective authorities are required to prove 4 factors or conditions, i.e. 'preponderance of the evidence', prior to filing charges of child neglect:
1). Did the defendant (parents in this case) owe a duty to the child or to the general public?
2). Did the parents violate a duty?
3). Did the child suffer injury as a result of the negligent violation of duty?
4). Was the injury a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant parents' action or inaction?
(See Information below for complete definitions of Federal and Wisconsin Laws regarding Child Neglect.)
Does This Case Meet the Conditions of Child Negligence? If one were to assess this case using the 4 conditions necessary to satisfy the preponderance of evidence, they would likely conclude that: while the parents owed a duty to the child, i.e. to supervise and care for her at all times, they certainly failed to do so when they left her behind at the Milwaukee McDonald’s. However, according to Milwaukee police, the 2-year-old girl was found unhurt and appeared in good condition; thus the parents would fail to meet conditions 3 and 4, as she suffered no direct injury as result of her parents’ actions.
What Are Your Thoughts?
- Should the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare find this 2-year-old’s parents guilty of negligence?
- If yes, should she be removed from her parent’s custody? For how long or until the parents prove their competence in what way?
- And what about the other 8 children residing in the home, should they also be removed? Or should the parents receive some sort of penalty or required training that could aid in ensuring that the parents are more attentive to all of their children in the future?
- Or in contrast, do you believe the parents’ behavior was just simply a mistake, caused by parental stress and oversight, which clearly fails to meet the 4 conditions necessary to prove preponderance of evidence in this case?
- If this is your opinion, should the 2-year-old be returned to her parents without conditions? Should the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare offer counseling or parental education services to the parents? And, does this incident necessitate continued monitoring by the Bureau?
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A Closer Look at Federal and Wisconsin Legal Definitions of Child Neglect:
The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), (42 U.S.C.A. §5106g), as amended by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003, defines child abuse and neglect as, at minimum:
- Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or
- An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.
More Specifically, CAPTA defines Neglect as: the failure of a parent, guardian, or other caregiver to provide for a child's basic needs. Neglect may be:
- Physical (e.g., failure to provide necessary food or shelter, or lack of appropriate supervision)
- Medical (e.g., failure to provide necessary medical or mental health treatment)
- Educational (e.g., failure to educate a child or attend to special education needs)
- Emotional (e.g., inattention to a child's emotional needs, failure to provide psychological care, or permitting the child to use alcohol or other drugs)
These situations do not always mean a child is neglected. Sometimes cultural values, the standards of care in the community, and poverty may be contributing factors, indicating the family is in need of information or assistance. When a family fails to use information and resources, and the child's health or safety is at risk, then child welfare intervention may be required.
Wisconsin's Law Defines Neglect: When a parent . . . or caretaker . . . fails, refuses, or is unable, for reasons other than poverty, to provide the necessary care, food, clothing, medical, or dental care so as to seriously endanger the physical health of the child.
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