SPARC Forums

Soc,


I have mediation in 2 weeks, my daughter has only been here for a few days, and she has told me that she is left home a lot at night while her mother and mothers boyfriend go out.


question:

1. Is there any laws (florida) that say how old a child must be before they can be left alone?


thanks

but I'm warning you that I'm not a lawyer or anything!!  

I could only find guidelines recommended by DCF in FL and as far as I can tell, there are no hard and fast rules - here is a link for you to read more about it.  Maybe Soc knows if there is an actual law or not.

http://www.211bigbend.org/hotlines/phonefriend/ready.htm

>Soc,
>
>
>I have mediation in 2 weeks, my daughter has only been here
>for a few days, and she has told me that she is left home a
>lot at night while her mother and mothers boyfriend go out.
>
>
>question:
>
>1. Is there any laws (florida) that say how old a child must
>be before they can be left alone?

Don't know. If you want to raise this as an issue for mediation, then simply request that any order include a statement that the child will not be left unsupervised. Be aware that this could cause child support to be modified against you so as to provide for the cost of alternative daycare.

If this is an issue you wish to raise at trail bearing on the parent's fitness to act as custodian, then make a video of yourself talking with the child (or better, have a therapist interview the child and report on the child mental state), and offer it as evidence.

You could also file a complaint with child protective services, but that's usually pretty inflamatory, so be certain there's a clear danger to the child, before taking that step.

.