This is another example of Florida child protective services overreaching their authority and attempting to criminalize loving parents. This past April, the parents of an 11-year-old boy were 90 minutes late arriving back at their home due to inclement weather and traffic. Their 11-year-old son waited for his parents to arrive at the locked home by playing basketball in the yard. A concerned neighbor made a call to the police who arrested the parents for category 3 felony neglect. Once the parents were arrested, the two children (11 and 4) were placed in child protective custody. This situation is especially bizarre since Florida does not have a minimum age for children to be left alone.

The parents were reunited with their children only after the older boy begged the judge to reunite the family. While the civil issues in this case are now resolved, the parents still have a lengthy legal fight ahead since both parents are still facing a felony conviction. Learn more about this story here: https://reason.com/blog/2015/06/11/11-year-old-boy-played-in-his-yard-cps-t