Bill > HB1608

This bill amends Mississippi law to make the deprivation of necessary supervision for a child a crime, specifically adding a new provision that if a parent, legal guardian, or other person responsible for a child fails to provide adequate supervision appropriate to the child's age, and this failure results in substantial harm to the child's physical, mental, or emotional health, that person can face imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. This change expands the existing child abuse and neglect statutes, which already cover acts like physical abuse, starvation, and endangerment, by criminalizing severe neglect through lack of supervision that leads to significant harm to a child.

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https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2026/pdf/history/HB/HB1608.xml