Mother Who Left Kids in Car during Job Interview Gets 10 Years’ Probation
A recent case involving a mother and the suffering of her two sons has the media in an uproar.
Phoenix resident Shanesha Taylor rose to public awareness when she inadvertently caused the pain and anguish of her two young sons by leaving them in a hot vehicle while she went on a job interview. Her mugshot, complete with tears on her cheeks, resonated strongly with the public.
The reason she left them in the car was because, as she stated, she had no one at home to watch her kids, and she was completely unable to find any child care for a few hours. Despite the tragic circumstances, her story hit a nerve with other citizens, and donation money began pouring in to help her. Before too long, she had $114,000 in donations that had been sent over the internet.
However, even that ended up being surrounded in controversy, when the public turned on her for failing to set up a child care trust fund for her children (as had been promised), and no transparency at all as to where the money ended up going.
Taylor has entered a plea deal with prosecutors, which states she must serve 10 years of probation, pay $100,000 in restitution, and take parenting classes.
According to many individuals, though, the story here is not about Taylor specifically; it is about how there are undoubtedly thousands of other parents across the country who are forced to do the same thing due to a lack of available child care. It doesn’t seem too far-fetched for there to be some government-funded child care program for the single parent who occasionally needs to go on interviews, and that is exactly what some individuals are pushing for. They are hoping that the availability of free, quality care will allow parents to get jobs in order to provide for their families, and cut down on the number of children who die in hot cars every Summer.