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The Issues We Address
The Hope Box addresses issues concerning infant abandonment.
Infant abandonment is a complex issue. An infant is considered abandoned if a person grossly neglects a child and leaves them unattended. Typically, people think of discarded babies when they hear the words “infant abandonment”.
Discardment is one way an infant is abandoned. However, there are other types of infant abandonment that are far more prevalent.
The Hope Box seeks to address the most common issues surrounding infant abandonment.
These Common Issues Include...
DISCARDED BABIES
At times, mothers in crisis “discard” their babies in dangerous locations without adequate medical care. There are many reasons why women feel they must leave their infant. To address this type of infant abandonment, in 2002, the federal government required every state to have a Safe Haven law put into effect.
The Hope Box has been instrumental in working with the Georgia state legislators to expand the Georgia Safe Haven law, along with working with other states to continue improving their Safe Haven laws. To learn more, please visit our Safe Haven law page.
BOARDER/STUCK BABIES
Hospitals throughout the country are home to boarder or "stuck" babies. These also may be referred to as infants left in hospitals with no one to take them to a home. At times, there can be up to 50 boarder/stuck babies in one hospital. The legal term for boarder/stuck babies are infants medically cleared to be discharged from the hospital, but they have nowhere to go. The Hope Box addresses this through our Hospital 2 Home Project.
INFANT SEX TRAFFICKING
Did you know that babies, including children under the age of three, are being trafficked in the United States every day on the black market? These are infants being sold for sex.
The Hope Box has become involved in the fight against infant sex trafficking because of the tips we receive from women-in-crisis.
The Hope Box has prevented several infants from being sold for sex. These infants are now safe. However, there are many more who face the threat of being sold to pay off a debt, appease a pimp, or fuel a drug habit. The Hope Box is raising awareness about this issue and is working within the judicial system to rescue infants at risk of being trafficked.
To understand how The Hope Box addresses these issues, you can click here.
To learn about statistics regarding abuse and neglect, you can click here.
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