Phillipsburg Town Council has given final approval to an ordinance that can pull parents into municipal court over their children's run-ins with the law. The new chapter, titled Minors and Parental Responsibilities, targets juvenile conduct against public peace, safety and morals, and it gives a judge the power to order supervision after a conviction.
The measure cleared its final reading Tuesday night, according to wfmz.com, which reported that the council approved an amended ordinance holding parents and legal guardians responsible for specific offenses committed by minors. The new code section covers offenses ranging from felonies to high misdemeanors and misdemeanors. Under the law, it is unlawful for a parent or legal guardian, through any act, word, failure to act, or lack of supervision, to encourage, contribute toward, cause or tend to cause a minor to commit one of the covered offenses.
How the Summons and Presumption Work
Once a minor is convicted of a covered offense, the parent or legal guardian can be summoned before a municipal court judge and ordered to provide supervision of the child, per the same report. The ordinance sharpens its teeth on a second offense: if the minor is convicted again within 18 months of the first conviction, that creates a rebuttable presumption that the parent has violated the chapter's provisions. LehighValleyLive.com reported that Town Council approved the law in a 5-0 vote and that the ordinance applies to a full range of juvenile misdemeanors and felonies.
Per LehighValleyLive.com, the law also authorizes a judge to compel parents to attend juvenile proceedings involving their children and makes parents subject to civil penalties if their child commits a second offense. The outlet reported that the ordinance preserves liability for children while making both children and parents responsible for the child's actions. Councilmember Joshua Wanisko told the outlet the goal is to lower crime rather than arrest more people, and he clarified that the law does not transfer liability from children to parents.
A Measure Years in the Making
Councilmember Lee Clark said the council had worked on the measure for a long time and that he thinks the law can do a lot of good, according to LehighValleyLive.com. The council first approved the ordinance on first reading on October 13, following amendments to an original bill, the same outlet reported. An earlier version of the proposal was described as addressing a wider range of juvenile offenses and giving local enforcement a mechanism to fine parents and guardians, wfmz.com reported separately.
LehighValleyLive.com also reported that a Phillipsburg resident had suggested such a law back in May, and that other New Jersey communities have adopted similar measures. Wanisko told wfmz.com that the bill does not exonerate minors by placing liability on their parents, framing the ordinance as adding culpability rather than shifting it entirely.
How Other New Jersey Towns Compare
Phillipsburg is not the first New Jersey municipality to go this route. Gloucester Township adopted its own version on July 28, 2025, covering 28 offenses, including felonies, loitering, curfew violations and chronic truancy, according to nj.com. That ordinance imposes maximum fines of $2,000 plus the possibility of up to 90 days in jail for adults whose children repeatedly commit unruly acts, and nj.com reported it arrived as the township grappled with a trend of teens and juveniles instigating fights, damaging property and committing other offenses. Nearby Wildwood instituted a similar policy that same summer, with parents facing fines of up to $1,000, nj.com reported.
ABC News reported that under Gloucester Township's ordinance, a parent or legal guardian can face a fine of up to $2,000, a jail sentence of up to 90 days, or both, once a minor is found guilty of a second offense, while a first offense can lead to an order that the parent provide supervision of the minor. Police Chief David Harkins told ABC News that no parents had been charged since the ordinance took effect. Elsewhere, Covington, Georgia, adopted an ordinance in June holding parents and guardians legally and financially responsible for certain crimes committed by their children, with fines up to $2,000 or up to 30 days in jail, according to Stateline.
Does the Approach Actually Work?
Stateline reported that every state has some form of parental-responsibility law, but there is little empirical evidence showing that the laws actually reduce youth crime. The outlet pointed to a 2014 study finding that legal professionals, including police chiefs and prosecuting attorneys, generally did not view the laws as effective and that such laws were common but rarely enforced. That history offers a sobering backdrop for Phillipsburg's new chapter, even as local officials frame it as a tool for prevention rather than punishment.
