Is your child a criminal? Columbia, Richland County want to help you be a better parent
Columbia and Richland County officials have teamed up to create a program intended to aid parents whose children have been charged with a crime.
Columbia City Council member Tyler Bailey, alongside 5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, told reporters Wednesday that they’re working on a program that would assist parents when their children are charged with a misdemeanor crime. The program is expected to roll out in the next several months, according to Bailey.
“What we want to ensure is that when there are parents who may have had a role in their kid’s crime, which doesn’t rise to the level of a serious felony, there are parental support services in place to benefit those parents,” Bailey said.
The program, centered around parental accountability, will be required for parents at risk of being charged for helping their child commit a misdemeanor crime. If any of those parents fail to participate in the program, they would likely face criminal charges, according to Lott.
“This program is designed to help parents be parents,” Lott said. Since January, Lott has charged several moms with crimes associated with violent acts committed by their kids. “Unfortunately we have adults who have children and they’re not being a parent.”
Bailey said the program, in part, is in response to the community’s call for greater parental accountability. While there are certain programs currently in place, such as pre-trial intervention and diversion, no such program exists for parents.
“There’s been a growing public sentiment about parents being held accountable for their roles in their children committing crimes,” Bailey said. “There are programs out there for parenting courses that the Sheriff’s Department and the city have, but the thing with those programs is that people don’t take them unless they have to take them.”
The program is intended to improve parenting skills by offering services such as parenting education, counseling and social support networks, according to a news release.
“The proposed Parental Support and Accountability Court would focus on addressing parents’ roles in their children’s criminal behavior while providing access to resources and structured intervention programs,” Bailey said in a news release.
Gipson said the program is designed to hold parents accountable in a way that also provides proactive support.
“As we are looking to hold parents more accountable for the things that they know their children are doing, it’s one thing to hold them accountable, but it’s another thing to provide some type of structure, some type of programming that can help them raise those gaps so that they can be better parents.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 2:44 PM.
