My ex is presently the custodial parent of our 15 year old daughter, mainly, because she doesn't like it that I have rules and consequences.He is going to go out of town for a week to NYC on business and she was going to stay with me and her older and younger brother. He father has decided that she can stay by herself, with friends, at his home. While living with him this past year, she has cut school, gone missing for several days at a time, gotten picked up by the police at 3am for possession of pot and continues to use her friends prescription speed, all with no consequences.What is the law concerning leaving kids alone for extended periods of time? I babysat at her age but my parents never would have left me like this.Thank you so much for your help.
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States
Thank you for posting your question to JA/Pearl. Legal questions often take time for research or I may be offline so please be patient, I will reply.There is no specific law and each situation is treated by the court and child protective services on a case by case basis. Whether 15 is too young to be left alone for a week depends on the circumstances such as is there an adult neighbor monitoring the situation, is there a relative checking, is there an adult available if there is a problem. However, this, along with the other issues is certainly sufficient for you to file with the court for a change of custody. I don't know how close that you live but you may want to drive by at night to check since it is highly likely that there will be a party and you can notify CPS. Here is the court information on modificationhttp://www.courts.state.ny.us/courthelp/faqs/childcustody.html
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