'Free-range' Parents Cleared in 2nd Child-Neglect Case

USA Today reports  that the "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."

In case you missed it, here's the recap of the case from USA Today: 

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.

Here's the original case: 

They were also cleared of the first charge of Child Neglect:

So what we all knew is true: it is NOT ILLEGAL and it IS NOT child neglect to allow children to walk together to and from the park, which is a mile away from home.

Yet, these cases continue to pop up around the country -- just last week, the parents of an eleven-year-old boy in Florida were arrested and jailed for allowing their son to play basketball in the front yard for 90 minutes unsupervised: