Parents are being held responsible for their kid’s crimes under new laws

When young children and teenagers get into trouble, the question often comes quickly: Where were their parents?

That question is again shaping public policy in communities across the country, as state and local lawmakers and prosecutors increasingly look for ways to respond to concerns about youth crime and public disorder.

Some proposals would strengthen enforcement of existing laws that allow parents to be fined or otherwise held responsible for their children’s conduct. Others would impose youth curfews or establish new requirements for parents to perform community service or pay fines — measures considered in places such as Albany County, New York; Chicago; and Columbus, Ohio. But experts note there’s little proof the laws work.

A new law in Louisiana, which went into effect earlier this month, allows courts to fine parents or guardians up to $5,000 if a youth age 14 or older is convicted of making a school threat. 

State lawmakers also recently requested a study on the link between parenting, discipline and juvenile delinquency. Louisiana already has one of the nation’s toughest laws, allowing parents to be prosecuted when their child under 17 is involved in a violent felony, with penalties of up to 10 years in prison.

A new law in New Jersey that went into effect earlier this year makes parents liable when their child incites a public brawl that causes property damage. Parents of children who commit the most serious offenses could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Parents and guardians can have enormous influence over the children in their care, some proponents argue, so holding them accountable could give them another incentive to keep their children in school, enforce rules and steer them away from crime.

Every state has some form of parental responsibility law. But there is little empirical evidence showing that the laws actually reduce youth crime.

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“We just don’t know,” said Eve Brank, a psychology professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 

Brank has spent decades studying the implementation and effectiveness of those laws, and said there have not been any gold-standard empirical research studies on the subject. Her research also suggests that these laws are not commonly enforced. 

The renewed interest is also playing out in Washington, D.C., where U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced in May that district parents may face up to six months in jail if they knowingly allow their children to commit crimes. The move came in response to “teen takeovers,” or large, unruly gatherings of teens.

The day after Pirro announced the policy change, a group of teenagers got into a violent brawl at a Chipotle in the Navy Yard neighborhood. Video of the fight quickly spread online, and Pirro later used the incident to underscore her warning to parents.

“We’re looking at the parents to make sure that they understand that they are responsible for the upheaval that is going on,” Pirro said at a news conference. 

The idea of holding parents responsible for their children’s criminal behavior has resurfaced repeatedly over the past several decades, often during periods when public concern about youth crime is high.

A familiar response

The current debate echoes an earlier wave of parental responsibility laws in the 1990s, when concerns about “superpredator” teens spread.

By 1995, more than 40 states had enacted some form of parental responsibility law, according to a 2000 research article published in The Social Science Journal. The laws varied widely, from requiring parents to attend counseling or parenting classes to imposing fines and, in some cases, imprisonment.

In a study published online in 2014, Brank and several colleagues at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln surveyed police chiefs and prosecuting attorneys about parental responsibility laws. They found that the legal professionals generally did not view the laws as effective, which could help explain why the laws are common but rarely enforced.

Brank told Stateline that there’s some potential for the laws to be disproportionately applied to single parent households, low-income families and families of color.

But research also suggests parental monitoring, supervision and the quality of parent-child relationships can all play a role in adolescent delinquency.

Some experts and advocates say the question, then, is whether punishment is the best way to change behavior — or whether resources would be better spent preventing problems before they start.

“We need a pretty comprehensive view, and thinking seriously about whether punishment will actually garner the outcomes that we want,” Brank said. “Are there ways we could instead focus our attention and resources on prevention?”

Political appeal

Experts who study parental responsibility laws say their appeal may be largely political. They’re a way for lawmakers to signal that they are responding to concerns about youth crime, while tapping into the familiar idea that parents should be held responsible when their children get into trouble.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pushed for greater responsibility from parents, though often for different reasons.

“One of the interesting aspects of this whole discussion is it doesn’t necessarily break on partisan or typical ideological lines,” said Marc Levin, the chief policy counsel at the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank.

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In Covington, Georgia, city officials adopted a new ordinance in June that holds parents and guardians legally and financially responsible for crimes committed by their children, including vandalism, disorderly conduct, shoplifting and curfew violations. Parents and guardians could face fines up to $2,000 or up to 30 days in jail.

In neighboring South Carolina, the Columbia City Council passed a resolution in May as part of an effort to curb youth crime by connecting parents and families with community resources, services and educational opportunities. The resolution formalizes a partnership between the city, the Columbia Police Department and the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, and supports diversion, education and intervention programs.

The move comes a year after Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, a Republican, launched the office’s Parental Accountability Initiative, which has led to 12 parents being charged in connection with their children’s crimes since January 2025, according to a news release.

“The goal of this initiative is not to lock up parents. It is to get parents to be a parent,” Lott said in the release.

On the right, some policymakers have embraced parental responsibility policies as a way to address issues such as curfew violations, vandalism, truancy and teen takeovers.

On the left, some progressives and gun-safety advocates have also pushed for greater accountability for parents, particularly when parents are accused of giving children access to firearms or failing to act on serious warning signs.

In Georgia, Colin Gray was sentenced to 15 years in prison after prosecutors argued that he provided his son, Colt Gray, with the gun used in the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting, which killed four people. Colt Gray was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

A similar case unfolded in Michigan in 2024, when Jennifer and James Crumbley were convicted of involuntary manslaughter after their son, Ethan, killed four people in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting.

In other cases, when parents are not directly involved in an offense, the question of parental responsibility is less straightforward.

In Oakland, California, two brothers, ages 7 and 4, took their sleeping parents’ car and crashed it into a woman walking a dog earlier this month. Kiara Bowling, 31, suffered critical injuries, including a brain bleed and facial fractures. The boys were also injured. 

The incident has sparked debate online over whether the children and the parents should be held responsible.

Limitations 

Parents have sometimes faced scrutiny for giving children what they consider age-appropriate independence, including allowing them to walk around their neighborhoods or play outside without an adult. 

At least 13 states, including Connecticut, Florida, Utah and Montana, have adopted laws intended to protect parents from being deemed neglectful simply for allowing children to engage in reasonable, age-appropriate independent activities.

But some experts say the expectations placed on parents can vary widely depending on their circumstances, and meeting them can be especially difficult for families with fewer resources, such as those led by single parents or living on low incomes.

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“A lot of the sanctions that these types of proposals typically have on parents make it even harder for the parent to be a good parent,” Levin, of the Council on Criminal Justice, told Stateline. 

Some research suggests that family-focused interventions can address risk factors associated with delinquency, including behavioral parent training, family therapy and intensive, home-based services.

Some advocates say teenagers need places to spend time outside of home and school, yet many communities have fewer affordable, accessible “third places” for young people to gather. Malls, recreation centers and other traditional gathering places have closed or imposed restrictions on teens without adult supervision.

The apparent rise of teen takeovers has brought that tension into sharper focus. Some communities have responded with stricter enforcement of youth curfews.

Others, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas and Detroit, have expanded youth programming, community events and other alternatives, such as summer employment programs and extended recreation center hours.

“I see kids that are seeking engagement that aren’t given a safe place to play and engage and to socialize and interact with each other,” Keri Rodrigues, a mother of five and the co-founder and president of the National Parents Union, a network of parent organizations and advocacy groups. 

Stateline reporter Amanda Watford can be reached at awatford@stateline.org.