SUPREME COURT RULES: OK TO SLAP CHILD AND TAKE MONEY FROM PAYCHECK

A ruling came down from the state Supreme Court regarding what is and isn’t child neglect or abuse. In a 7-0 decision, the court ruled that slapping a child and taking money out of a child’s paycheck to help pay family bills is not necessarily child abuse. The state  Division of Youth and Family Services had acted wrongly for taking a daughter out of her father and stepmother’s house a few years ago. The court ruled that an a slap every once in awhile “although hardly admirable … does not fit a common sense prohibition against ‘excessive’ corporal punishment.” Having a teenager help pay for the bills with his or her work is not illegal either.