The Connecticut General Assembly
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH
March 13, 1997 97-R-0329
TO:
FROM: Lawrence K. Furbish, Assistant Director
RE: Parental Criminal Responsibility for Crimes Committed by Their Children
You asked for additional information about several state laws that make parents criminally responsible for crimes committed by their children. They were highlighted in a recent National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Legisbrief.
SUMMARY
The NCSL document listed 16 states as having parental responsibility laws, and we were able to find the statutes for 14. (We could not find statutes for Michigan and Utah.) Four states (Arkansas, Hawaii, Maine, and Virginia) do not have true criminal responsibility laws but, like Connecticut, make parents civilly responsible, up to a limit, for torts their children commit. Five states (California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, and Wisconsin) require parents to reimburse the state for the cost of their delinquent children's care and treatment.
Ten states (Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin) have laws making parents responsible in more specific ways. These include requiring parents to pay restitution, perform community service, and participate in counseling or treatment programs. Some states make parents responsible if their children violate graffiti or curfew ordinances or laws or bring guns to school. Many of these laws exempt a parent from responsibility if the court finds that they made a good faith effort to keep the child from engaging in delinquent activity.
ARKANSAS
The parents of any minor under age 18 who maliciously or wilfully destroys property are liable for the amount of damages, up to $5,000. The property owner, whether a person or a public or private entity, can bring a court action to recover the damages (Ark. Stat. Ann. § 9-25-102).
CALIFORNIA
The juvenile court can require the parents or other person responsible for a minor's support to reimburse the county for the cost of a juvenile's probation supervision pursuant to a juvenile court order (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code, § 903.2).
COLORADO
In addition to any regular sentence directed against a juvenile, the court can require his parents to perform community service or perform services for the victim designed to rehabilitate the juvenile. The court can also require the parents to attend a parental responsibility training program or to make restitution to the victim, up to a $5,000 limit. Before requiring restitution the court must hold a hearing with the parents present, and if the court finds that the parents made diligent, good faith efforts to prevent the juvenile's delinquency, the court must absolve them of any restitution responsibility (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 19-2-919).
CONNECTICUT
The court can order the parents or guardian of a convicted delinquent who has caused property damage or personal injury to pay restitution to the victim if the parents or guardian knew of or condoned the child's conduct. Even if they didn't have such knowledge, the parents or guardian and the child can together be required to pay restitution. The parents or guardian are liable for up to the $5,000 limit in the statutes for parental liable for the torts of a minor (CGS § 46b-140). In addition, parents can be required to reimburse the state for the cost of their child's care (CGS § 46b-130), and the courts can assess costs against parents who can afford it to pay for mental and physical examinations it orders (CGS § 46b-134).
FLORIDA
A child's parent or guardian, as well as the child, can be ordered to provide community service in a public service program, participate in a community work project, and pay restitution. The amount of restitution the court orders cannot exceed what the parent and child could reasonable be expected to pay, and if the court finds that the parents made a diligent and good faith effort to prevent the child from engaging in the delinquent conduct, it cannot order these sanctions. The court can also require the parents to pay for the cost of the delinquent's support and maintenance, unless it finds that the parents were the victims of the child's delinquent act or made the good faith effort described above. Finally, the court can order the parents to participate in family or other professional counseling (Fla. Stat. Ann. § 39.054).
HAWAII
Parents are liable for any graffiti damage a child causes including having the damaged property replaced or repaired. The court must give due consideration to their financial resources to ensure that they will be able to pay for it (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 577-3.5). In addition, parents of children under age 18 are jointly and severally liable for damages arising from any tort the minor commits (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 577-3). Finally, parents can be required to attend counseling if their child under age 16 violates a 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 577-16 and 16.5), and if they knowingly allow the child to violate the curfew they can be fined up $100 or imprisoned up to 20 days (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 577-18).
ILLINOIS
Parents who knowingly allow their children under age 16 to violate an 11 p. m. to 6 a. m. curfew (12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. on weekends) are subject to a fine of between $10 and $100 (Ill. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 555/1).
IOWA
When the court deems it appropriate, it can order a child's parents to reimburse the county for the costs of the child's care and treatment, and it can also require the parents to participate in the child's educational or treatment programs and hold them in contempt if they fail to do so (Iowa Code Ann. § 232.52).
MAINE
When a minor between seven and 17 years of age wilfully or maliciously damages property or injures another person, the parents can be liable for up to $800 (Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. § Tit. 14 § 304).
MARYLAND
The court may enter a restitution order against the parents of any juvenile who has committed a delinquent act resulting in property damage or personal injury up to a limit of $5,000. The court can do this even if the defendant child is charged and convicted as an adult (1991 Md. Laws Ch. 307).
NEW JERSEY
Municipalities can enact curfew ordinances prohibiting juveniles under age 18 from being on the streets between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The ordinance can also prohibit parents from allowing juveniles to be on the streets during these restricted hours and must establish clear standards to
help the juvenile and his parents understand what is legal and what is not. Violators must perform community service and may be subject to a fine of up to $1,000; if a juvenile and his parents both violate the ordinance, they must perform community service together (N. J. Stat. § 40:48-2.52).
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma has several statutes prohibiting activities that contribute to the delinquency of a minor, which cover parents as well as other people. They all involve knowingly or willingly encouraging a minor to engage in some form of illegal activity. However, one offense does not involve the intentional actions of the parents. It make the parents of any child under age 18 subject to a fine of up to $200, an order to perform up to 40 hours of community service, or both if their child possesses a firearm on school property. This is an administrative penalty and is not recorded on the parents' criminal record (Okla. Stat. Ann. Tit. 21 § 858).
VIRGINIA
Governmental institutions and school boards can institute court actions against the parents of any juvenile who damages public property, and the parents are liable for up to $750 in such damages (Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-43). Private property owners have the same right of recovery up to the same limits (Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-44).
WISCONSIN
If a child fails to pay restitution or any forfeiture ordered by the court, the court can enter an order against the child's parents for the amount ordered. It must give the child and parents notice and an opportunity to be heard, and it must consider the child's and parents' ability to pay (Wis. Stat. Ann. § 895.031). If the parents agree, the court can order them to perform community service in lieu of making restitution or paying a forfeiture. Finally, parents are liable for the cost of repairing or replacing property a juvenile damages, defaces, or steals.
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