Pubdate: Sat, 07 Jul 2001 Source: Cambridge Reporter, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2001 The Cambridge Reporter Contact: http://www.cambridge-reporter.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1470 DEATH OF A TEEN: PROTECTIVE LAWS NEEDED Damned if you do, damned if you don't, is an expression tailor-made to describe the dilemma some parents face with wayward children. Although the Harris Tories have talked about implementing a law making parents liable for the illegal actions of their children, the fact is some parents have little or no control over their children. The situation involving 13-year-old Amanda Raymond appears to fall into that category. Raymond is the Kitchener teen who apparently overdosed on illicit prescription barbiturates during an all-night party at a residence on Somme Island in Lake Puslinch. The youngster had been experimenting with drugs but instead of dealing with her problems, had quit school and left home, according to Raymond's aunt Valerie Kyriacou. Amanda didn't like the house rules and just walked out. Her family turned to Family and Children's Services, Waterloo Regional Police and the Waterloo Regional District School Board for help that none could supply. Agencies like police and Family and Children's Services have no teeth to deal with truancy unless it can be demonstrated that the child's life is in danger. The child has to be caught in an abusive situation or nabbed at a party taking drugs before agencies are empowered to take them home or into custody. A number of parents have called The Reporter over the years to express their frustration over similar scenarios. Their children are free as birds, running with the wrong crowd, living off the street, and officials seem powerless to change anything, they have complained. The parent who attempts to forcibly confine such a child to the home runs the risk of facing serious criminal charges. Peter Ringrose, executive director of Family and Children's Services for the region, commiserates with the parents and agrees legislation to curb such self-destructive behaviour is needed. More funding of counselling services is also needed, he said. An inquest into Amanda's circumstances could prove useful in outlining all the places where the system deserted this family. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom