Supervision of Children Guidelines

Children in Parental Custody

• Children 8 years or younger should not be left home alone.
• Children between the ages of 9 and 12 years, based on the level of maturity, may be left alone for brief (less than 2 hours) periods of time.
• Children 13 years and older, who are at an adequate level of maturity, may be left alone and may perform the role babysitter, as authorized by the parent, for up to 12 hours.

Children in Foster Care

• Children in DFCS custody are not permitted to babysit.
• Reliable and competent youth,14 years and older may be left under their own supervisor under certain circumstances that have been previously agreed upon and documented by the Social Services Case Manager, Supervisor, and placement provider.
• Youth who are 14 and older may be eligible of the Independent Living Program (ILP) and the development of a Graduated Independence Plan (GIP) that will allow the youth to engage in unsupervised age appropriate activities. The GIP must be developed in conjunction with the youth, the youth's parent/caregiver (when applicable), SSCM, Supervisor, and placement provider.

If you have specific questions concerning supervising guidelines, please contact DFCS Customer Contact Center at 1-877-423-4746 (Monday - Friday, 7:30am to 2:00pm