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	NCJ Number:	NCJ 131556
	Title:	Sins of Their Children: Parental Responsibility for Juvenile Delinquency
	Author(s):	G Geis ; A Binder
	Journal:	Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy  Volume:5  Issue:2  Dated:(1991)  Pages:303-322
	Date Published:	1991
	Page Count:	20
	Annotation:	Recent laws and ordinances making parents liable for certain actions or omissions represent an inadequate and often vicious approach to the problem of juvenile delinquency and deprive persons of money and liberty based on unprovable assumptions that their behavior is meaningfully affected by threats of a possible civil or criminal response.
	Abstract:	In the United States, parents and guardians have been punished for the acts of their children and wards through three main approaches: (1) laws prohibiting acts labeled "contributing to delinquency;" (2) civil liability under the general concept of parental responsibility; and (3) recent laws or ordinances defining certain parental actions or omissions as crimes, usually misdemeanors. Appellate courts have upheld laws holding parents civilly liable for vandalism or other problems, although the financial limits these laws include make it clear that the goal is juvenile crime control, not restitution. Furthermore, various States and localities now permit fines or incarceration of parents for acts committed by their children. Nevertheless, anecdotal material, statistics from New Hampshire, and Federal data indicate that the laws do not significantly affect delinquency rates. Thus, in the absence of definitive data on the subject, legislatures and judges should refrain from punishing parents for their children's acts. 97 footnotes
	Main Term(s):	Vicarious liability ; Parental influence
	Index Term(s):	Juvenile codes ; Juvenile delinquent family relations ; Parental liability
	Type:	Legislation/Policy Analysis
	Country:	United States of America
	Language:	English
	To cite this abstract, use the following link: https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=131556
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