House Bill 4305
At what age can children be left at home? Families consisting of two working adults may find this question challenging. Even so, a single adult household might contemplate leaving a young child in the care of older siblings. Illinois statutes offer guidelines families are obliged to follow as Illinois residents when they decide who may watch young children when no parent can be home. The guidelines set by DCFS help establish and create a safe transition for leaving a child at home.
Parents face many circumstances when they may opt to leave their child at home. Situations may arise when school is not in session, after-school programs are not readily available, or a last-minute family emergency demands that a parent be elsewhere. Other external reasons include employers failing to offer flexible work schedules, which can contribute to a parent needing to leaving a minor at home. Also, employers may not offer personal time off. Families facing financial hardship are more likely to be desperate to persist in jobs where work hours are inflexible and inconvenient, and these same economic circumstances may encourage them to leave children at home unsupervised at earlier ages, given the cost of babysitters and child care. The demands to provide for the economic well-being of a household can conflict with other duties to children and compel a parent to leave a child alone at home to meet family expenses.
Parents should assess the child's mental, physical, and emotional well-being and abilities (Illinois Department of DCFS Children & Family Services [DCFS], 2014). Children with special needs can heighten risks of immediate danger if left unattended for a lengthy time. Parents should determine situations that warrant risk at home. For example, can windows be easily opened? Older homes might have metal cranks or hinges that can adhere tightly due to age. Also, does a minor have access to a responsible adult in case of an emergency (DCFS, 2014)?
Currently, the Illinois DCFS constitutes that leaving a minor, 14 years and younger, alone for an unreasonable period could be regarded as neglect (DCFS, 2014). State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur/Springfield, introduced House Bill 4305 after families urged age modification for minors allowed at home independently (Sharkey, D. 2022). The age change would impact many dedicated working families. House Bill 4305 hopes to amend the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and change the minor age to 12 years (2022).
According to Illinoispolicy.org, Illinois tops the nation's age for minors allowed to stay home alone (Sharkey, D. 2022). Single adult households might face circumstances that merit DCFS's input based on child welfare situations. DCFS can decide if a child has been neglected and is at risk (DCFS, 2014). Families working hard should not have to face penalties in raising a family. House Bill 4305 will allow the state to modify the age to stay at home from 14 to 12. Families then decide if a child is capable and responsible at home alone.
Many 12-year-old and 13-year-old children already return home from middle school and find the house empty until their parents return home from work after 5:00pm. A practice that is so widespread and usually harmless should not be grounds for finding that parents have been neglectful. The age at which children are mature enough to handle themselves at home without their parents presence is set by cultural expectations and social conventions, and as such, the law should be permissive with a preference for erring on the side of allowing parents to overestimate their children’s abilities rather than erring on the side of coercively punishing parents for making reasonable decisions. There should be some lower limit to allowable ages to leave children home alone, but that limit ought to be at the low end of a reasonable range, around age 12, and not so high as age 14. If you agree, please contact your State Senator and State Representative and urge them to see that House Bill 4305 is passed during the upcoming lame duck session before the new legislative assembly is seated.
