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June 28, 2006

Amendment to Abandoned Newborn Infant
Protection Act

I. BACKGROUND. In 2001, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act to provide a safe alternative to a parent who may be considering abandonment of a newborn infant. The Act provides that a parent may give up a newborn infant to personnel of a hospital, police station, fire station or emergency medical facility. Provided the baby is not abused, the parent may remain anonymous, is free to leave at any time, and will not be prosecuted. Personnel at the police station, fire station, or emergency medical facility who accept an infant must arrange for the transportation of the infant to the nearest hospital as soon as transportation can be arranged. While the original law provided that the infant must be 3 days old or less, effective July 26, 2006, a person may relinquish an infant who a licensed physician reasonably believes is 7 days old or less.

Since its passage, 25 babies have been relinquished under the Act. However, during that same time period, 42 infants were abandoned unsafely, including 21who were found dead. Because an infant may be relinquished to any hospital personnel, all personnel should be aware of the Act. The following explanation may be helpful in informing new personnel of the law’s requirements, and reviewing them for current staff.

II. RELINQUISHED INFANT. An infant is a relinquished infant if:

A. The infant has been left with personnel of a hospital, fire station, emergency medical facility or police station by a parent who either does not express an intent to return for the infant or states that he or she will not return for the infant; and
B. A physician reasonably believes the infant is 7 days old or less; and
C. The infant is not abused or neglected.

The relinquishing person is presumed to be the infant’s biological parent. If the parent leaves the infant at a fire station, emergency medical facility or police station, the infant will be given emergency treatment, if necessary, and transported to the nearest hospital. For purposes of this Act, an "emergency medical facility" is a freestanding emergency center or trauma center as defined in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act. Urgent care and convenient care centers are not included in this designation.

If a parent arrives at the hospital to relinquish a newborn infant, the hospital shall:

A. Evaluate and Provide Care to a Relinquished Infant. The act of relinquishing a newborn infant serves as implied consent for the hospital to provide care to the infant. The hospital shall be deemed to have temporary protective custody of a relinquished infant until the infant is discharged to the custody of a child-placing agency or the Department of Children and Family Services. The hospital must accept and provide all necessary emergency services to a relinquished infant, and shall examine the infant and perform tests that, based on reasonable medical judgment, are appropriate in evaluating whether the relinquished newborn infant was abused or neglected. Finally, a physician must reasonably determine if the infant is 7 days old or less.

B. Provide Information to Relinquishing Parent

1. Hospital personnel must verbally inform the parent that by relinquishing the infant anonymously, he or she will have to petition the court in order to prevent the termination of parental rights and regain custody of the child.

2. Personnel must offer the relinquishing parent the packet of information specified in the Act (See Part IX of this memo), and if possible, clearly inform the parent that:

3. Personnel must mail completed forms to the Department of Public Health, if the parent so requests.

C. Report the Relinquishment

Within 12 hours after accepting a newborn infant, hospital personnel must report to the DCFS Central Registry that a newborn has been relinquished under the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act. Reporting in this manner will alert DCFS personnel to begin contacting child-placing agencies, as opposed to following standard procedures where a report of suspected abuse is made, under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.

IV. ANONYMITY AND IMMUNITY OF THE RELINQUISHING PARENT. If there is no outward evidence of abuse or neglect of the relinquished infant, the parent has the right to remain anonymous and to leave the hospital, fire station, emergency medical facility, or police station at any time, and not be pursued or followed. If abuse or neglect is later suspected, for example, as a result of tests performed on the infant, then the hospital must report it, as described below. The parent will not be prosecuted for the relinquishment, unless the infant was abused or neglected.

V. REPORTING SUSPECTED ABUSE OR NEGLECT. If there is suspected child abuse or neglect, not based solely on the infant’s relinquishment, hospital personnel must report that to the DCFS Central Registry, using the current process for making such a report.

VI. PLACEMENT OF THE INFANT. Upon notice from the hospital that an infant has been relinquished, DCFS must contact, on a rotating basis, agencies from its list of licensed child-placing agencies willing to take legal custody of relinquished newborn infants. An agency must accept the infant, if it has the accommodations to do so. If no child-placing agency can accept the infant, DCFS must assume responsibility for the infant.

VII. PAYMENT FOR HOSPITAL SERVICES. Public Aid (now, Department of Healthcare and Family Services) will reimburse the hospital for medical services to the infant as well as for any days beyond medically necessary days that the hospital has custody of a relinquished infant.

VIII. IMMUNITY FOR HOSPITAL AND PERSONNEL. The hospital and its personnel are immune from criminal or civil liability for acting in good faith under the Act, but remain liable for negligent care and medical treatment.

IX. PACKET OF INFORMATION FOR RELINQUISHING PARENT.
Hospitals, fire stations, emergency medical facilities and police stations must offer a packet of information to a relinquishing parent.

A. All Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange application forms, including the Medical Information Exchange Questionnaire (See Resources, below) and the website address and toll free phone number of the Registry, as follows:

(1) The web site of the Illinois Adoption Registry is: http://www.idph.state.il.us/vitalrecords/vital/adoptbroch.htm.

(2) The toll-free phone number of the registry is 877-323-5299, TTY (hearing impaired use only) 800-547-0466.

B. Written notice of the following:

(1) No sooner than 60 days following the date of the initial relinquishment of the infant to a hospital, fire station, police station, or emergency medical facility, the child-placing agency or the Department will commence proceedings for the termination of parental rights and placement of the infant for adoption.

(2) Failure of a parent of the infant to contact the Department and petition for the return of custody of the infant before termination of parental rights bars any future action asserting legal rights with respect to the infant.

C. A resource list of providers of counseling services, including grief counseling, pregnancy counseling, and counseling regarding adoption and other available options for placement of the infant. (Each hospital should develop its own list of local service providers to include in the packet.)

A. The forms for the packet are located on the Department of Public Health web site at: http://www.idph.state.il.us. Click on A-Z topics list, then "Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act." Scroll down, looking at the center of the page until you see the bulleted list of documents.

B. Other ways to obtain the application forms for the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange:

C. To obtain an Adoption Registry Brochure in color brochure format, contact the Adoption Registry, as indicated above, and request the information be mailed to you.

D. To obtain brochures/posters explaining the option for safe abandonment under the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act, you may download them at: http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/library/com_communications_sumlicen_abinfant.shtml.

Placing the brochures and posters in the emergency room and hospital waiting areas will help to raise awareness of the law, which is essential to saving more infants from unsafe abandonment or death.

E. The complete text of P.A. 94-941 is available by clicking here.

A. What should hospital personnel do if a physician reasonably believes the infant is more than 7 days old, or the infant has obviously been abused or neglected?
The Act provides that if an infant is more than 7 days old, or has been abused or neglected, the hospital must proceed as if the child is an abused or neglected child. This means that the hospital must report to the DCFS Central Registry under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.

Although this report to DCFS is all that is required under the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act, refusing to take the infant from a parent who wishes to relinquish him or her could possibly result in harm to the infant. The hospital would most likely act in the best interests of the child if the physician were to take temporary protective custody of the child, as permitted under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, when the physician has reason to believe that the child’s health or safety would be endangered.

B. What if a parent returns to the hospital to reclaim the infant?
The Act provides a method for a parent to reclaim custody of the infant. If a relinquishing parent or someone else comes to the hospital intending to reclaim the infant, hospital personnel should remind the parent that in order to get the baby back, they must contact DCFS to find out the appropriate court in which to file a petition for return of custody. Hospital personnel may allow the parent to view the infant and may discuss the infant’s condition with the parent, but should state that the hospital must comply with the law’s requirements.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Barb Haller at 630/276-5474.