Definition of Baby abandonment

  The definition of baby abandonment is varies and that issue is the complexity of the issues surrounding baby abandonment is extend by the ambiguity of the exact definition. Abandoned is a phrase that had been used in various ways and it has specific statutory  in the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act (P.L. 100-505, 1988; amended
in P.L. 102-236, 1991),that addressing  babies that born in hospital but not staying with their parent because parental drug abuse, HIV/AIDS
infection, or other child protection issues.

  The phrase has a different and broader meaning in common speech, because it also refer to babies that didn’t born in hospital but left in dangerous place by their

  However, there are group of children that are specified as abandon by state law. The various tags add in more confusion. It is very hard to adjust the naming of these groups but authorities have must be alert by the potential confusion.
  Increase cases in babies abandonment is often reported publically so our legislative are working very hard to find ways how to curb it. Eventhough  the definition are not very clear, in monograph, phrase baby abandonment is referring to dumping and leave the babies alone for a period of time in private or public places with intention to dump the babies.

extra info on babies abandonment: 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1998, 1999) defines

three categories of infants, younger than 12 months old, who are

not in the custody of their parents: (1) boarder babies: infants who remain

in the hospital beyond the date of medical discharge; (2) abandoned

babies: infants who have not been medically discharged but who

are unlikely to leave the hospital in the custody of their birthparents (the

child welfare agency and/or the birthparent may make this decision; and

(3) discarded babies: living infants found in a public or other inappropriate

place without care or supervision. If infant was found deceased, the

cause of death was related to the act of abandonment.

2. Definition agreed on by participants in the Baby Abandonment Symposium

hosted by the Child Welfare League of America in October 2000.

3. Two states have amended their original laws and increased the maximum

age of legal relinquishment: Indiana increased the maximum from 30 days

to 45 days, and Texas increased the maximum from 30 days to 60 days.

4. This presumption allows legal proceedings to commence, terminating parental

rights and protecting the safe haven from liability, even if there is no

concrete proof that the relinquisher was the parent. The presumption is

rebuttable, meaning that a parent can challenge it in court if a person who

was not authorized by the parent relinquished the child.

Book:
Abandoned Infants Assistance Act, P.L. 100-505 (1988).
Bernstein, N. (2001, August 31). Few women choose to abandon newborns at legal havens.
The New York Times.
Brasier, L. L. (2002, January 30). Despite law, abandoned babies in legal limbo. Detroit Free
Press. Available from http://www.detroitfreepress.com/newslibrary.
Brief summary: Information related to discarded infants. (2000, August). Berkeley: University of
California, Berkeley, Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center. Available from http:/
/socrates.berkeley.edu/~aiarc/discarded/discardfs.pdf.
Child Welfare League of America. (1998). Standards of excellence for services for adolescent pregnancy
prevention, pregnant adolescents, and young parents. Washington, DC: Author.
Davidson, H. (2000, Winter). Legal reform in response to unwanted newborns. Unified Response.
Delaware House Bill 120, Section 3, 907A(a) (2001). Available from http://www.
legis.state.de.us.
Illinois Public Act 92-0408, Section 5 (2001). Available from http://www.legis.state.il.us/
publicacts/pubact92/acts/92-0408.html
Montana Senate Bill 132 (2001). Available from http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/2001/billhtml/
SB0132.htm.
Satcher, D. (2001). The Surgeon General’s call to action to promote sexual health and responsible
sexual behavior. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Surgeon General’s Office, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
(1999). Abandoned babies: Preliminary national estimates. Washington, DC: Author. Available
from http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/news/stats/abandon/htm.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families,
Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (1998). 1998 national
estimates of the number of boarder babies, abandoned infants and discarded infants (Master
Contract No. 105-94-2019, Delivery Order No. 105-97-1649). Arlington, VA: James
Bell Associates.
Yardley, J. (1999, December 26). A flurry of baby abandonment leaves Houston wondering
why. The New York Times, Section 1, p. 14.
websites
:The Nature of Baby Abandonment.16
   August,2010.http://www.cwla.org/programs/baby/babymonograph.pdf

posted by:Florence (A134434)