ATLANTA — Three Georgia lawmakers introduced a new bill to protect parents from facing certain criminal charges related to reckless conduct and child cruelty in instances where their children are acting independently.
The Brittany Patterson Act, filed after a Georgia mother was criminally charged for letting her son walk outside on his own in 2024, would prevent parents from facing child cruelty, neglect or reckless conduct charges over accusations of failing to provide parental care when acting in good faith to let children engage in activities on their own.
Brittany Patterson, who the bill was named for, was arrested in Fannin County in October 2024 after she allowed her 10-year-old son to walk to a store less than a mile from their home.
On Friday, court records show the charges against Patterson were dismissed, but Patterson’s attorney said it didn’t mean the charges have been dropped for good.
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The bill named for her would allow parents to let their children walk or bike to and from school, take public transit, travel by themselves to and from nearby stores or recreational centers or play outside without direct parental supervision.
The bill also says leaving a child in a car without the parent directly present would not be an immediate safety issue, with exceptions for dangerous temperatures or so long as the child can get out of the vehicle in an emergency.
House Bill 552, also called the Georgia Parents, Children, Child Welfare and Law Enforcement Protection and Fiscal Responsibility Act, would also cover allowing children to remain at home without an adult present so long as safety guidelines from the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services are followed.
Additionally, actions by parents or guardians to allow children to act independently will not qualify as a “gross deviation from the standard of care” for a child’s safety, and no state or local government entities would be able to obstruct or interfere with a parent or guardian who is acting in compliance of the law.
If passed, it would be illegal for a parent or guardian to be detained or charged criminally or investigated for actions falling under the proposed law’s provisions.
On the other side of potential legality, state officials and agents who act in good faith of the law will be immune to criminal or civil liability in the event that a child is harmed or dies while following the letter of the law regarding investigations of this type.
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