'Free-range' parents cleared in 2nd child-neglect case

Delia Gonçalves | WUSA-TV, Washington

Show Caption Hide Caption CPS rules out neglect for free range parents CPS has ruled out child neglect for a couple who allowed their children to walk to a Silver Spring park alone.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A Maryland couple who had been investigated for letting their children walk alone has been absolved of child neglect in an October case that first brought the family public attention.

Danielle and Alexander "Sasha" Meitiv are known for letting their children walk together but without an adult around their neighborhood in this Washington suburb, a parenting style that's been dubbed "free-range parenting." The Meitivs first came under scrutiny in December after callers reported that Rafi, 10, and Dvora, 6, were walking home from a nearby playground.

In April, police and Montgomery County Children's Protective Services held the children for hours after they were spotted walking from a park. The parents were cleared in May in that incident, but the December case was pending until the Meitivs learned in a June 13 letter that they have been cleared.

Earlier in June, the Maryland Department of Human Resources issued a new statewide policy saying children walking or playing outside alone is not neglect and does not warrant the intervention unless the children are in danger or at risk. Officials haven't commented publicly on the Meitivs' case.