Washington Post: Free-range parenting discussion misses the bigger picture

Children’s Law Center Executive Director Judith Sandalow writes in The Washington Post in response to the recent media debate over so-called “free-range parents.” Sandalow argues that the conversation misses the point, and the media and others should instead focus on preventing child neglect, and city leaders should focus on putting more systems in place that help keep kids safe.

Year after year, programs that help families have their funding cut. We should instead invest in these programs and also expand affordable housing, quality day care, home visiting programs, job training and more. These are the programs that actually make it possible for all families to make safe choices and care for their children’s needs.

Moving forward, I hope that we can prevent most cases of neglect from happening by putting more support in place for the struggling families who are most likely to be swept up into the child welfare system.

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