'Free Range Parents' Cleared of One Child Neglect Charge - East Idaho News
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‘Free Range Parents’ Cleared of One Child Neglect Charge

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abc danielle meitiv kb 150413 16x9 992?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1432651572439ABC News(ROCKVILLE, Md.) — The Maryland parents who were charged with child neglect over their “free range parenting” style have been cleared of a second of three charges against them.

Child Protective Services of Montgomery County, Maryland, changed the ruling on a Dec. 20 incident from “unsubstantiated neglect” to having charges “ruled out,” the attorney for Alexander and Danielle Meitiv told ABC News Tuesday.

“This ruling confirms that we never exposed our children to a ‘substantial risk of harm,'” Danielle Meitiv said in a news release.

The couple has faced three charges from CPS since 2014, each based on an instance where their 6-year-old and 10-year-old children were found walking home by themselves from parks. State law dictates that children under the age of 8 must be in the care of a person at least 13.

CPS did not disclose a reason for the ruling, the Meitivs’ attorney said, and the agency did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

The charge that was most recently dismissed stemmed from an instance when the children were detained by authorities after they were spotted walking unaccompanied by an adult during the mile-long trip back to their home from the park in December.

The Meitivs already faced an accusation relating to a similar incident in October 2014, their attorney Matthew Dowd said, for which they previously obtained a favorable ruling. They still face a charge for a third incident in April of this year.

“We are working to ensure that this abuse by CPS does not happen again in the future,” Dowd said, telling ABC News the family is concerned about the children being held by CPS for several hours, as they were in December.

Danielle Meitiv echoed his concerns.

“We fear that our family and other Maryland families will be subject to further investigations and frightening police detentions simply because our and their children have been taught how to walk safely in their neighborhood, including to and from school and local parks,” she said in the statement.

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