# Would you support mandatory home visits for all parents? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 20, 2002, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809 "2002-11-20T22:04:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/1 "2002-11-20T22:04:23Z")
This is an extension of the earlier thread that I posted, [Would you support parental licensing?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=143667). The question is, would you be supportive of mandatory home visits to all parents by representatives of the state? For example, three times a year, every family would be visited by a social worker, just to make sure things were kosher. Just to be clear, I do not mean all families who are under investigation, all families who are suspected of abuse or neglect, or all families who x, y, or z. All families. If you do support this, what should the visit entail? What should be checked for? Should the children be questioned seperately every time, or only if the caseworker suspects something is wrong? Should the home itself be inspected, and to what degree? Should parents be required to provide evidence that they are doing their job, or should the burden be placed on the caseworker to find something amiss? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/2 "2002-11-20T22:06:57Z")
Dear God. ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/3 "2002-11-20T22:07:50Z")
Oh, and if you support this, should they be surprise visits, regular every three months type of visits, or maybe sort of random but scheduled a week or a few days in advance? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/4 "2002-11-20T22:13:32Z")
No, I don’t support it. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/5 "2002-11-20T22:14:39Z")
Heavens no. Absent clear cause, emergency, or warrant, I get to decide who passes my doorway. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/6 "2002-11-20T22:16:01Z")
I think it’s a horrible idea. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/7 "2002-11-20T22:23:34Z")
Do you have any plans to pay for the several hundred thousand case-workers to be hired? (The case-workers we had during our foster and adoption process were already overworked.) Do you have a procedure that you can envision that will ensure that the case-workers would be competent? (Our adoption worker was outstanding as a person and as an advocate for the children. Our foster worker was, I believe, capable of breathing without extended mechanical support.) Do you have any notion of the safeguards you need to put in place to prevent abuses by overzealous, ill-trained, or just poor-examples-of-humanity case workers? Which existing medium-sized state should we rent out to another country to cover the costs of this program? (And what are the odds that people who were truly evil would be caught, in contrast to the huge numbers of good people who would be tripped up by “paper” violations of the new regulations?) I guess that would be a “no” from this poster. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/8 "2002-11-20T22:26:22Z")
Where is this coming from? ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/9 "2002-11-20T22:30:03Z")
Ok, I promise that I did not post this just to lead into what I am about to bring up; while I find the idea of mandatory home visits repulsive, I genuinely thought that some people would be for it, and I wanted to see how popular the idea would be and what their reasons would be. The reason I thought that anyone would be in favor of this measure is because of the number of people who are in favor of home visits for homeschoolers. I honestly don’t see why it is ok to intrude on a family just because they opt to educate their children at home. Really, I swear I honestly thought some people would support this. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/10 "2002-11-20T22:31:41Z")
I think it’s a wonderful idea–but only if the parents get reciprocal inspection privileges. Three times a year, all the parents in the community should be allowed to go down to DCFS and peer over a caseworker’s shoulder, rummage through all her paperwork, talk to her cow-orkers and her clients, and just generally make sure she’s doing a good job. ---
**Author:** ![ElJeffe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ElJeffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElJeffe)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/11 "2002-11-20T23:41:08Z")
DDG, heh. I’m, of course, opposed to the idea of Poppa Gov’ment peering over my shoulder at the way I choose to raise my children, unless I’ve given serious reason to suspect that I’m abusive, or some such. Presumption of innocence, and such. I shudder to think that there are people who _would_ support this. As far as the homeschooling bit, I can see a rational person putting forth a good argument for inspections - it’s a lot of work teaching a child, and a poorly educated child is going to be at a serious loss when time comes to venture into the Real World. You wouldn’t trust just a parent to perform open-heart surgery on their child, you would send them to a hospital to have it done by an expert. Similarly, the act of educating a child is typically performed by an expert, and if the parent opts to do the task themselves, it’s not unreasonable to allow an expert to check in from time to time and make sure things are running smoothly. That being said, I don’t necessarily agree with that argument, and think that if a parent chooses to homeschool, he should be allowed to do so in peace, for reasons very much similar to why I don’t feel a parent should be subject to random inspections in the manner suggested by the OP. Jeff ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/12 "2002-11-21T00:10:09Z")
> [@](#): > > it’s not unreasonable to allow an expert to check in from time to time and make sure things are running smoothly. Except that this can be handled by the same idiotic “proficiency tests” to which we subject children who are in the schools without the need to inspect the home. I go back to your stronger position that home schooling does not need to be inspected, at all. Let the home-schooled kids compete with the classroom kids on the normal assessments and leave the families alone. ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/13 "2002-11-21T00:37:58Z")
No person should be subject to government intrusion in his or her home absent clear evidence that wrongdoing is taking place, or has taken place, therein. The Bill of Rights is quite clear on this. The mere fact that a family chooses to homeschool their children is not clear evidence of wrongdoing. If the state feels it necessary to ensure that homeschooled children receive sufficient education, it can require the parents to present the child for reasonable examination at an appropriate time and place. Forced intrusion into the home is neither required nor appropriate to ensure the state’s interest is met. When did we come to the conclusion that the state’s interest in caring for children overrides the Bill of Rights? ---
**Author:** ![ElJeffe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ElJeffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElJeffe)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/14 "2002-11-21T00:47:44Z")
**tomndebb** , I agree with you 100% there. Jeff ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/15 "2002-11-21T00:48:01Z")
Re the OP: No. [aside] I really wish I could have seen **Lib’s** face as he read the OP. How far did that man’s jaw drop? [/aside] ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/16 "2002-11-21T00:54:27Z")
**Lib** , hell. I’m still trying to find _my_ jaw. I think it’s on the first floor of the office somewhere. It sounds like a terrible idea to me; both for the group of “all” kids and the subset “homeschooled” kids ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/17 "2002-11-21T01:15:09Z")
Just who is proposing that homeschooled children be subjected to home visits, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/18 "2002-11-21T01:34:28Z")
Wow. I’m amazed at the number of people I normally disagree with, who have unanimously said what I wanted to say so well that I really don’t even have anything left to say! In other words, I agree with all of you so far. I am 100% opposed to home inspections by the government for any reason. Period. Without a warrant or probable cause (and an armed escort), nobody comes into my home to judge whether I’m a fit parent, or for any other reason without my permission. Cessandra, are you taking some sort of weird class or something? You’re posting some really wacko threads lately! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![JerseyDiamond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@JerseyDiamond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyDiamond)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/19 "2002-11-21T01:34:43Z")
Absolutely not. Unless they agree to pay for my daughter college tuition, designer clothes (not now, but she’s not a teen yet), medical and dental bills, first car, and all her spending cash. If they sgree to this, then they can come over whenever they want. Even under thoses circumstances, they would be checking me out as a condition to a financial agreement. Not because they have the authority to judge weather or not I am a fit parent. In other words, they would be checking on their investment. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809/20 "2002-11-21T01:50:35Z")
> [@](#): > > The reason I thought that anyone would be in favor of this measure is because of the number of people who are in favor of home visits for homeschoolers. I honestly don’t see why it is ok to intrude on a family just because they opt to educate their children at home Slight hijack: I think the reason so many people favor home visits for homeschool kids is that it’s still enough “outside the norm” that a lot of folks are still suspicious of it. Still, it’s totally unfounded, because the school board (at least in this state) does require us to provide proof that the kids are receiving sufficient instruction in all required areas. I hardly think it could be compared to “performing brain surgery”, because no one’s life is in immenent danger! As for the OP, I was horrified as I read it!! There’s already too much of the gov’t poking its nose into my business!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-support-mandatory-home-visits-for-all-parents/137809.md?page=2)