Abandonment
The states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming and the District of Columbia include abandonment in their definitions of abuse or neglect, generally as a type of neglect.
The states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands provide definitions for abandonment that are separate from the definition of neglect.
In general, it is considered abandonment of the child when the parent’s identity or whereabouts are unknown, the child has been left by the parent in circumstances in which the child suffers serious harm, or the parent has failed to maintain contact with the child or to provide reasonable support for a specified period of time.
The following is a list of factors that have been commonly found in cases of child abandonment. Teenage pregnancy is one factor that increases the likelihood of other factors such as poverty and depression:
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/riskprotectivefactors.pdf
Impact on survivors of abandonment
Being abandoned also has an impact on the children which can be detrimental to their growth and development. Those who have been abandoned can develop low self-esteem, difficulty emotionally attaching and trusting other caregivers, guilt, anxiety, clinginess, insomnia, eating disorders and depression (Anderson, 2000).
Authors note:
In a study of health issues in a small, low economic town, interviews were conducted with members of the population and providers of healthcare. In the town there was a religious sponsored program for pregnant teenagers which provided maternity clothes, baby clothes and baby furnishings with frequent lunches out. One counselor told the author their teenagers were excellent mothers. Most of the research on teenagers describes that time of life as challenging for both the teenagers, their parents, and their teachers. Teenagers are learning to be responsible for their own lives and rarely equipped emotionally and financially to care for an infant.
According to the CDC, 229,715 babies were born to women between 15 and 19 years of age in 2015 in the US. The rate is higher than other industrialized nations. According to Perper, et al (2010) pregnant teenagers tend to drop out of high school with only 50% of teens receiving a high school diploma by 22 years of age compared with 90% of female teenagers who do not give birth. Children of teenage mothers tend to have lower school grades, a higher dropout rate from high school with an increased risk for pregnancy, more likely than peers to live in poverty, suffer health and cognitive disadvantages, and have a higher unemployment rate (Hoffman, 2008).
A conversation with the social worker at the OB clinic revealed the staff were discouraged from counseling the teenagers about abortions (Bitler & Zavodny 2002). The teenagers were encouraged to have the baby. From that conversation, a follow up visit was done with a 16-year-old who was living in a cold water flat with her infant. Her boyfriend came and went but did not contribute to the household or infant expenses. She could not afford a car and depended on public transportation.
The school nurse in the elementary school described many children, who were eligible to enter kindergarten, as having incomplete vaccination records. Typically, the mothers were young. The clinic for the young children was on the other side of the adjacent town which took two bus rides. It could take a mother up to two hours to get to the clinic. If they were late, they were told to come back for a different appointment and to make sure they were on time.
The elementary school followed up on a recommendation to hire a full-time nurse practitioner to provide immunizations and other health care needs to the children.
During this time a graduate nursing student conducted interviews with female students at an inner-city high school who chose not to get pregnant. Their motivation to avoid pregnancy were aspirations that could not be accomplished if they had a child at that time. One of the graduate students responded by encouraging members of her church to develop a program to sponsor teenage girls, getting them involved in activities that helped them develop life goals.
Prevention of teenage pregnancy
A 2011 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey indicates more than 47% of all high school students say they have had sex, 60% percent reported condom use and 23% used birth control pills during recent sexual encounter. Young people ages 15 to 24 represent 25% of the sexually active population but acquire half of all new STIs. https://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/about/index.htm.
From 1982 to 2010 the federal government recommended only sexual abstinence be included in sex education classes for high school students. This recommendation stopped in 2010 but in 2015-2017, there was an insurgence of funding for these programs. States and local communities, however, have the right to establish their own guidelines for sex education.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, as of April 1, 2019:
- 24 states and the District of Columbia mandate sex education.
- 38 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to involve parents in sex education, HIV education or both.
- 37 states and the District of Columbia allow parents to remove their children from instruction.
- 28 states and the District of Columbia require the provision of information about skills for healthy sexuality (including avoiding coerced sex), healthy decision making and family communication when sex education is taught.
- Only 13 states require that if provided, sex and/or HIV education must be medically accurate.
For information on your specific state’s legislation on sex education go to
http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-policies-on-sex-education-in-schools.aspx#1
Leaving infants and toddlers unattended in vehicles
While there is no federal law covering at what age and for how long it is alright to leave a child alone in a car, there are currently 19 states that have laws making it a crime to leave infants and children unattended in a vehicle. Additional states are planning similar legislation. In Colorado, there is immunity for anyone who breaks into a car to rescue a child or animal at risk of harm. Even without state laws, some cities and municipalities have laws prohibiting children be left alone in a car. Without specific laws about leaving a child in cars, general child welfare laws concerning neglect under the provision to provide supervision and/or a general endangerment law could apply. Anyone who sees a child at risk can report the incident and trigger a child welfare investigation. Children left alone in a vehicle can be at risk for heatstroke, kidnapping, strangulation with power windows, and accidents from putting a car in gear.
States with laws prohibiting leaving children in a vehicle alone
- California: V C Section 15620 Prohibition Against Unattended Child in Vehicle
- Connecticut: Sec 53-21a Leaving child unsupervised in place of public accommodation or vehicle
- Florida: FSS 316.6135 Leaving children unattended or unsupervised in motor vehicle
- Hawaii: 291C-121.5 Leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle
- Illinois: Sec. 12 21.6. Endangering the life or health of a child
- Kentucky: 507.040 Manslaughter in the Second Degree
- Louisiana: RS 32:295.3 Leaving children unattended and unsupervised in motor vehicles
- Maryland: 5-801 Unattended Children
- Michigan: 750.135a.added Leaving child unattended in vehicle
- Missouri: Sec 568.052 Leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle who causes an accident
- Nebraska: Revised 28-710 Child Protection Act
- Nevada: 202.575 Leaving child unattended in motor vehicle Oklahoma: Unattended Children in Motor Vehicle Safety Act
- Pennsylvania: 3701.1. Leaving an unattended child in a motor vehicle
- Rhode Island: § 31-22-22.1. Child passenger protection – Warnings of hazard and risk.
- Tennessee: 55-10-803. Offense of leaving child unattended in motor vehicle
- Texas: Sec. 22.10. Leaving a child in a vehicle
- Utah: 76-10-2202 Leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle
- Washington: RCW 46.61.685 Leaving children unattended in standing vehicle with motor running
https://www.kidsandcars.org/2018/09/15/dont-leave-unattended-kids-in-cars/
Older children and Neglect and inadequate supervision
Only three states give a set age at which a child can safely be left alone. Illinois law requires children to be 14 years old before being left alone; Maryland, 8 years old; Oregon, 10 years old before being left home alone. Other states state parents need to determine when their children are physically and mentally able to care for themselves and safely can be home alone. It is important parents realize the child protection act requires parents to provide adequate supervision of a child even if the state or municipality does not specifically define what that is. It is considered neglect when a child under 18 is left without supervision in an inappropriate circumstance. Many malls, for example, do not allow unsupervised children under 16 to be there. Some city parks will state an age under which children need to be supervised. If not followed and an injury occurs, or the incidence is reported, parents may be visited by someone from the police department and/or child protective service agency.
It is important for nurses to know the reporting requirements in their state and city for situations when children are at risk. Neglect signs and symptoms include the following:
Instant Feedback:
Being abandoned and neglected can be detrimental to the growth and development of a child.
References:
Anderson, S. (2002). Recovering from Abandonment: Surviving Through the Five Stages that Accompany the Loss of Love. Share Guide. 14–16.
Bitler, M. & Zavodny, M. (2002). Child abuse and abortion availability. American Economic Review, 92(2), 363-367.
Guttenmacher Institute (2019) State Laws and Policies, Sex and HIV Education. Retrieved 4/13/2019
https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/sex-and-hiv-education
Hoffman, S.D. (2008). Kids having kids: Economic costs and social consequences of teen pregnancy. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.
Penman-Aguilar, A., Carter, M., Snead, M.C. & Kourtis, A.P. (2013). Socioeconomic disadvantage as a social determinant of teen childbearing in the U.S. Public Health Rep. 128(suppl 1), 5-22.
Perper, K., Peterson, K. & Manlove, J. (2010). Diploma Attainment Among Teen Mothers. Child Trends, Fact Sheet Publication #2010-01: Washington, DC: Child Trends
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