The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania doesn’t seem to care about children.
Not your children. Not mine.
Don’t have kids? One day you might. And Pennsylvania won’t care about them either.
Why do I feel this way? Well, for a number of reasons. But for the purposes of this column, it’s because in Pennsylvania, there is no minimum age limit for leaving kids home alone.
Pennsylvania, the state that, by law, requires people to buy wine and cheese at two separate cash registers in the same grocery store, doesn’t care if you leave your young kids home alone while you go on a shopping spree.
Pennsylvania, the state with a comically exhaustive list of rules and regulations to protect fish doesn’t care if you leave your young kids home alone to go fishing from dusk until dawn.
Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised by this lack of concern for children. After all, this is the same state that considers buying, selling, trading or bartering your infant child merely a misdemeanor.
Six years old? Six months old? Six days old? Multiple kids home alone at once? What is OK and what isn’t? The Commonwealth provides no direction. Therefore, I’m going to go ahead and assume it’s because Pennsylvania doesn’t care.
According to one government report, almost 4.5 million kids under the age of 14 are injured at home each year. “The vast majority of unintentional injury-related deaths among children occurs in the evening hours when children are most likely to be out of school and unsupervised.”
There’s no shortage of Pennsylvania tragedies.
April 2018: A 3-year-old Harrisburg girl died in a house fire after being left home alone.
August 2017: A 6-year-old Pittsburgh boy was shot to death by his 10-year-old brother after they were left home alone.
June 2007: Five children under the age of 8 died in a Pittsburgh house fire after being left home alone.
According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, a unit of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there is no clear national recommendation for parents on how young is too young to leave a child or multiple children home alone.
“Only three States currently have laws regarding a minimum age for leaving a child home alone,” per the site. “Illinois law requires children to be 14 years old before being left alone; in Maryland, the minimum age is 8, while in Oregon, children must be 10 before being left home alone.”
Colorado, Delaware and Mississippi all recommend 12 as the minimum age. Tennessee and Washington recommend 10. Kansas recommends age 6. But, those are simply recommendations, not laws.
Pennsylvania? Not even a recommendation.
Most responsible parents don’t leave young children home alone for hours at a time. However, some parents aren’t responsible. That’s why there are agencies like the Centre County Office of Children & Youth Services.
According to its website, in a “case of suspected abuse or neglect of children, the office determines if the allegation is true, and takes the necessary steps to protect the child.”
But, there’s a catch.
Sometimes those necessary steps have obstacles and, speaking from personal experience, those obstacles can be more rage-inducing than a successful central Pennsylvania Zipper Merge attempt.
A few years ago, I chose to become a single parent. Imagine my shock, when one day I learned that my then 6 and 8-year-old boys were consistently being left alone when not in my custody.
I was scared.
What happens in an emergency? What if my kids aren’t getting along?
I contacted my kids’ school to see if my concern was just an overreaction.
The school’s response? “Child services has been contacted.”
Well, that escalated quickly.
It was during that inquiry, and a second one six months later, that I was confronted with the absurdity: There’s no minimum age for kids to be left alone in this state.
So what happens? A CYS caseworker visits.
Me: “You’re telling me it’s not against the law to leave a child home alone in Pennsylvania, no matter the age?”
Child services caseworker visiting my home: “Correct. Even if we disagree with it, unfortunately, we don’t have the power to do anything until harm comes to the child or children.”
Did you catch that?
The agency responsible for protecting children from harm is prevented from taking action on behalf of children until harm comes to them first.
To be clear, it’s not the fault of Children and Youth Services. These well-intended public employees are hamstrung by flat budgets, high turnover, a state legislative system that fails to pass common sense laws and a judicial system that simply fails to practice common sense.
In the end, the children suffer.
“It is frustrating when children are harmed,” said Mary Ann Zimmerman, of Centre County CYS. “We do all we can to help parents keep that from happening. We also understand that parents become anxious when we arrive at their door and are slow to trust that we are trying to help them. However, if parents are struggling with this decision, if they call in to ask for help we can link them to services that won’t require our involvement once the referral is made. This could prevent children from being harmed.”
If you live in Centre County and can’t afford childcare, there are some options.
“Streetworks,” a program from the Centre County Youth Service Bureau, offers activities in five Centre County neighborhoods to teach kids how to stay safe. The bureau’s “Family Group Decision Making” program helps families develop plans for ensuring kids have care available to them.
Child Care Information Services (CCIS) of Centre and Clinton Counties provides subsidized daycare for those who qualify.
Many school districts have before and after school programs available to students. State College Area School District, for example, has the Community Education Extended Learning (CEEL) Program.
Not being able to afford daycare is one thing. But, taking unnecessary risks with a child’s safety is another. That is where Pennsylvania is failing its youngest citizens.
So, no sitter? No problem. Just leave your kids home alone.
And, if you don’t feel entirely comfortable with that idea, you can always trade or barter your kids away. In Pennsylvania, it’s only a misdemeanor.
