Leaving a Child Unsupervised

A parent or other person supervising a child under the age of twelve years who knowingly leaves the child unsupervised in a place of public accommodation or a motor vehicle for a period that presents a substantial risk to the child's health or safety commits a class A misdemeanor.

• The question includes whether the adult used the judgment a reasonable person would about whether the child was old, mature and able enough to be unsupervised.
• Letting a child who is up to it travel to and from school or nearby stores and parks, or play outdoors unsupervised, is not on its own a substantial risk, unless a reasonable person would see an obvious danger.
• Leaving the child in a place that serves alcohol on the premises is a class D felony; leaving the child anywhere covered between eight o'clock p.m. and six o'clock a.m. is a class C felony.
• Knowingly failing to report a child's disappearance, meaning no knowledge of where the child is and no contact for a twenty four hour period, is a class A misdemeanor.

• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-21aStatuteLeaving child unsupervised in place of public accommodation or motor vehicle. Failure to report disappearance of a childOpens cga.ct.gov ↗