Parents Didn't Commit Child Neglect For Slapping Teen and Taking Her Paycheck, Says NJ Supreme Court
According to the unanimous decision published by the New Jersey Supreme Court on January 26, 2011, the parents of a teenage girl did not commit child abuse by slapping their daughter and taking a portion of her part-time wages to pay family bills. New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services v. P.W.R. (A-79-09, January 26, 2011). The Court found the state Division of Youth and Family Services ("DYFS") lacked sufficient evidence to remove the teenager (Alice) from her father and stepmother’s home in 2008, and vacated the abuse and neglect judgment against her stepmother (Pam). DYFS removed the girl from the home after her grandfather reported the parents for taking her earnings from her part-time job and "slapping her around." A DYFS worker also found the home was without heat and authorized an emergency removal. The father told a DYFS representative that his wife (Pam) had slapped his daughter (Alice) once two years earlier, and that part