A newly released memo has clarified that Montgomery, Maryland, police officers have discretion over whether they take unattended children to Child Protective Services or simply notify the parents and drive the children home.
Although the memo does not reference any specific people or events, the announcement follows an incident earlier this month, in which police officers apparently detained two unattended children who were walking home from the park. Their parents, Danielle and Alexander Meitiv, were not notified for several hours that their children had been taken to Maryland CPS. The Meitivs allege their children were kept from them for almost six hours, including sitting in a police car for nearly three hours.
The family has said they will pursue a legal case in the wake of the incident.
“The Meitivs are rightfully outraged by the irresponsible actions of Maryland CPS and Montgomery County Police,” reads a statement released by Matthew Dowd, who will be representing them. “We must ask ourselves how we reached the point where a parent’s biggest fear is that government officials will literally seize our children off the streets as they walk in our neighborhoods. The Meitivs intend to fully vindicate their rights as parents and their children’s rights, and to prevent this from happening to their children again.”
This isn’t the first time the Meitivs have had a run-in with local officials; they first became the cause celebre of the so-called free-range parenting style when their children, aged 10 and 6, were picked up by police last November, also while walking home from the park alone.
Both incidents were reported on by the mainstream news, but the national firestorm that has ensued also demonstrates the power of blog networks (blogs are growing in influence in many ways, and are actually now 63% more likely to impact even consumer purchasing decisions than are newspapers).
Dozens of prominent parenting blogs — and many smaller ones — have debated the Meitiv case and the merits of the free-range parenting movement. Supporters say parents like the Meitivs are simply trying to instill responsibility, independence and confidence in their children, whereas critics say such parents are being irresponsible themselves and are exposing their children to unnecessary danger.