How long can you leave an 11 year old child alone before it is considered neglect in California?

I work with kids and once in a while a parent forgets to pick them up. Last week, a child was picked up nearly two hours after the activity ended. It was an unfortunate situation.
Additional Details
I work with kids and last week, one of them was not picked up until nearly two hours after the activity ended. The activity was over at 5:30 PM and he was not picked up until 7:25. It was cold and dark outside and he was wearing only a t-shirt and shorts. Each participant has an emergency card with numbers to reach a parent of family member in case of a situation like this. However, neither parent has a cell phone and there is no voicemail on their house phone. No relatives or other authorized people were listed on the card. I stayed with the boy until his mother came. She said that she was at a dentist appointment and I told her in the future, she needs to make arrangements for her son and that he should have top priority in her life.

Raul G

hey, it happens, it was good u stayed there with him

Must Be The Clouds In My Eyes

i bet when i was 11 i walked home

Kris L

NEVER leave an 11 year old without adult supervision. You may 'charge' the parents for watching the child the extra time after the activity is over, up to $1 an hour (I'd be a bit more conservative and give them TWO minutes per dollar) ... but NEVER leave that child alone, or YOU could be held responsible for 'child neglect and abandonment' which are both FELONIES in the state of California. In California, as in most states, is it ILLEGAL to leave any child UNDER the age of 12 ALONE, EVER.

Princess

I'm not sure about California but in Indiana about 2 hours.

iâ™¥that{70's}show.

like a day..
i dunno
guessing

noreshii

some parents just have to work late some days. give them a benefit of the doubt this time, but if it happens again, i'd get nosy

AT6381

charge them $1 a minute for each minute their late. Many daycares in California do this

Duffle Bag

I would imagine when I was 11 I could have survived a couple months providing their was plenty food.

Kung fu P

get all the numbers and call them when they forget

x3 Tinkerblonde

Well I'm 12 and my parents have left me home alone for hours since I've been 9
NO one really follows the rules, if your leaving them home alone like all night then thats diffrent,
but in callifornia,
an 11 year old can't be home alone.

Southern Girl

It's sad that they forgot the kid, but sometimes parents make mistakes. I wouldn't call 2 hours neglect, and I don't know how long it takes before leaving a kid alone is called neglect. And, was the kid left alone by you? Aren't you responsible for watching the kid? I hope you're not asking this question to know for how long you can get away with leaving a kid alone even though the parents forgot to show up.

Fred Said...ã‚¯ãƒªã‚¹ãƒ†ã‚£ãƒ¼

If you have their cell phone number call them, if the child is left alone there longer than an hour, you can call child care services.

Judge Judy is Back!

I'm certainly not going to stick up for parents that neglect their children but I did forget to pick up my son from daycare once. His father used to always pick him up from daycare so I wasn't in the habit of doing it. His dad sent me an email a month in advance saying he wouldn't be able to pick up our son on this one certain day. Well, a month later I forgot about that and I was in a meeting while the day care people were trying to call me. After an hour went by they called my friend who picked up my son and they were about to call the police. I felt horrible but I honestly didn't know that his dad wasn't picking him up that day. I'm a very protective parent, if this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.

Joe

Was the parent working or was they just sitting in the house

arsenic sauce

2 hrs.

that's not neglect, that's being late.

gosh

if he's 11... they're probably left home alone some times. I mean... i think more than a day would be neglect. of course it also depends on the child.

harleygirl

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=393371

THIS IS BASED ON A 13 YEAR OLD BUT THE SAME GOES..FOR AN 11 YEAR OLD..

JayJay

an hour and a half?

Wonder Woman

yes that is very very sad IF it happens often. If not, they might have made a mistake or something might have happened. geez! what is wrong with this world though anyways? ppl have children that should not and the ones that do not should. I'm sorry I'm not sure but I would think it is probably 12-24 hours.

Did the parent (care giver) make any attempt to contact you, to inform you of the situation and ask for you to intervene? If not it was a case of neglect the moment s/he was late, regardless of your location.

city girl

you should of called CPS!

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