House Bill #10: The Unattended Child Protection Act

Over the past few months it has come to my attention that Maryland is woefully lacking a substantial law to punish parents and care-takers who leave young children unattended.

Click here to read the Washington Post editorial that describes the harrowing case of a Prince George’s County mother who left her 5 young children and a dog unattended – in filthy surroundings, without food – for an extended period of time. Amazingly, the criminal punishment she faced for leaving the dog was three times as severe as for leaving each of her children. The Prince George’s County State’s Attorney pointed out that the laws currently on the books need to change. Clearly, the disparity here just doesn't make sense.

For this reason I have teamed up with Delegate Kathleen Dumais to introduce House Bill #10: The Unattended Child Protection Act of 2008 in the Maryland General Assembly which will commence on January 9th. This bill will increase the criminal penalties for anyone who is convicted of leaving a child under the age of 8 years-old without adult supervision in a building. It would increase the maximum jail time from 1 month to 3 years and would increase the maximum fine from $500 to $2,000. I believe this change in our law will send a strong signal to those who would abandon or neglect helpless young children.

In the coming weeks and months, I will work hard to ensure that this much-needed, common-sense legislation is passed into law.

You can read the actual text of the bill here.

- Saqib