Kids Allowed to Walk, Play Alone Not Neglected: State

Neglect guidelines wouldn’t apply to an embattled family threatened with the loss of their children after they were allowed to walk alone from a park, under a newly issued clarification of Child Protective Services procedures.

Last month, a neglect complaint against Alexander and Danielle Meitiv of Silver Spring, MD, was dropped – and their attorney announced plans to sue police and Montgomery County staffers.

The Meitivs have fought a finding of neglect by Child Protective Services after letting their son, Rafi, 10, and daughter, Dvora, 6, walk home alone from local parks.

In early April someone called police – as happened in two earlier cases – to report the Meitiv children were alone just a couple of blocks from home. The siblings were picked up by Montgomery County Police about 5 p.m. and turned over to the Child Protective Service 10:30 that night.

A policy memo to the state’s CPS workers from Deborah Ramelmeier, executive director of Social Services Administration, says in part that the statue does not apply to children left outdoors.

“Children walking outside or playing outside does not meet the criteria for a CPS response,” the policy document says. (See the full policy below.)

The CPS memo upholds the Meitivs’ contention that their children were never neglected or in danger, Matthew Dowd, the attorney representing the family, told The Washington Post. He said the clarified policy was overdue in the Meitiv case, but worries it is too vague.

“I’m glad they’re clarifying it, but it still doesn’t give reassurance to parents that their desire to give their children freedom will be respected,” Danielle Meitiv told the Post.

SEE ALSO: Embattled Parents to Pursue All Legal Options Against ‘Unlawful Seizure’ of Kids

Children Allowed to Play Alone in Park, So Police Take Them

The county agency in February determined that Danielle and Alexander Meitiv had committed unsubstantiated neglect of their children for an earlier unsupervised trek to the park.

The couple’s attorney, Matthew Dowd, told Patch in late May that CPS dropped the earliest complaints, but the agency’s investigation into the April incident is still pending.

Danielle Meitiv had said in an earlier interview that the earlier neglect finding meant CPS would keep a file open on the family for five years; that will now be closed with the new finding.

Dowd told Montgomery Community Media that CPS violated the Meitivs’ constitutional rights.

“We are moving forward with a civil action to make sure that this type of thing doesn’t occur again,” Dowd said. “There is strong Supreme Court court case law that a government agency can’t interfere with parenting responsibilities unless there is actual harm shown.”

Dowd said the civil case would be filed against CPS and Montgomery County Police for an unspecified amount of damages.

MORE ON PATCH:

• County Council Wants Details on Unattended Child Policies
• Readers Call Actions Against Family ‘Troubling,’ ‘Harassing’ and ‘Abuse of Power’
• ‘Walk Heard Around the World’: Parents Face 5 Years of Legal Purgatory
• Parents Nationwide Urged to Take Kids to Park, Leave Them

The Meitivs said they were pleased with the decision to drop the early neglect finding, but concerned that CPS policy leaves a cloud over their family and others.

“This ruling confirms that we never exposed our children to a ‘substantial risk of harm,’” said Danielle Meitiv last month. “Although we welcome the decision, we are concerned that CPS’s misguided policy remains intact. We fear that our family and other Maryland families will be subject to further investigations and frightening police detentions simply because our and their children have been taught how to walk safely in their neighborhood, including to and from school and local parks.”

The believe kids living in a city must be given the tools and confidence to safely navigate their neighborhood without their parents. That philosophy, known as free-range parenting, put the couple at odds with Montgomery County’s Child Protective Services.

Raising Independent Children

Their children know they can roam around the family’s residential area – bounded by four busy streets – on foot or on their bikes. If they want to go to downtown Silver Spring, perhaps to visit Whole Foods or drop by the library, then they have to tell their parents.

Danielle grew up in New York City, learned to cross busy streets “because that’s what city kids do.” She said she would be remiss as a mother if her kids couldn’t cross busy Georgia Avenue safely.

Her son feels sorry for other kids who aren’t allowed to explore the neighborhood in which they live.

“We’ve presented this as a natural part of childhood. By protecting kids from really remote risks we expose them to greater risks, like car accidents, or obesity by not being active outdoors,” Danielle said. “We’re raising children who are terrified of the world we’re giving them.”

»Photo of the Meitiv family from Danielle Meitiv’s Facebook page

Child Protective Services Screening & Case Determination Process