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Parents press for return of supervisory power over teens

By DAVID HULSE

MONTICELLO -- "Parents have lost their right to do anything," to manage unruly children over the age of 16, "and the state refuses to do anything about it," Joy Hansen told Sullivan Legislators last week.

TRR photo by David Hulse Joy Hansen, left, and other members of the Parents Awareness Support System pause for media interviews following their appeal for Sullivan Legislative support last week.

The Orange County mother and member of the Parents Awareness Support System (PASS) was in Monticello to lobby Sullivan support for PASS efforts to get some legislative relief.

The state Legislature is currently considering amendment to Article Seven of the Family Court Act, PINS (Persons In Need of Supervision) legislation. The law currently allows petitioning of the courts to provide supervision for persons under 16 years of age. The amendment would raise that age ceiling to 18.

Mike Connor of Watertown also spoke to the PASS request, saying the current 16-year-old ceiling was ruled unconstitutional by the courts in 1972, but the Legislature has never seen fit to change it.

Hansen said the law is a nightmare for parents as it allows 16-year-olds to live wherever they chose without adult supervision, to ignore household curfews and quit school if they choose. "All I wanted was to keep my child in school, at home and under proper supervision," she said. "All I got from officials when [my child] became unruly was 'I'm sorry, but the law says your child is an adult at 16 years old.'"

The Sullivan Legislature took no action on the PASS request, but Chairman Rusty Pomeroy noted that the subject is on the agenda for discussion at the June 10 meeting of the family services committee.