Legal Question in Juvenile Dependency in New York

Re: Juvenile dependency

There is no state law to guide you. I would recommend that a child under 12 not be left home alone and that a child in Middle school can be left alone for about 2-3 hours. A high school age child can be left for longer periods (a full day)but I would reserve overnight separation for children 16 or older.

Of course the maturity level of the child, the proximity of an adult to the child and other factors may mitigate toward being more conservative. Remember, even the best behaved child is still a child.

Good Luck