National Estimate of the Number of Boarder Babies, Abandoned Infants and Discarded Newborns
In 1988, Congress passed the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act (P.L. 100-505). The intent of the legislation was to assist states in addressing the problem of an increasing number of infants residing in hospitals whose parents were unable or unwilling to provide care at the time the infants were medically ready to be discharged from the hospital. These infants, who are frequently referred to as "boarder babies," created new demands on the already scarce resources available to child welfare agencies and hospitals, particularly in poor urban areas. The Act authorized funding for programs to demonstrate methods of serving abandoned infants and young children and required that a study be conducted to derive national estimates of the number of infants abandoned in hospitals and the annual cost of their care. JBA's first study in 1991 provided the initial national estimates of the number of infants and young children residing in hospitals beyond the date of medical discharge and the number who were HIV positive. It also provided an estimate of the costs incurred in providing care for these infants. Over the years, the scope of each study has been expanded. The 1997 study was a follow-up to the 1991 study that included information about discarded infants. Discarded infants were defined as infants that were left abandoned in a public place other than a hospital. In addition to producing national estimates of the number of boarder babies and abandoned or discarded infants, their characteristics and the costs of their care, as part of the 2005 study JBA provided estimates of the number of infants relinquished under state Safe Haven laws.