Section 30:4C-15.6 - Findings, declarations relative to abandoned children

NJ Rev Stat § 30:4C-15.6 (2019) (N/A)

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30:4C-15.6. Findings, declarations relative to abandoned children

2. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. New Jersey and the nation have experienced sorrow in the knowledge that newborn infants are sometimes abandoned in life-threatening situations and that some of these children have been harmed or have died as a consequence of their abandonment.

b. The parents of these newborn infants may be under severe emotional stress and may need a safe haven available to them and their child.

c. Anonymity, confidentiality and freedom from prosecution may encourage the parent to leave an infant safely and save the life of the infant.

d. Texas passed a law in 1999 concerning the emergency possession of certain abandoned children (Texas Family Code Section 262.301 et seq.) and measures similar to this Texas law have passed in Minnesota and Louisiana and are under consideration in more than 20 states, including California, Colorado, Kentucky and Indiana to name a few.

e. Infants at risk may be served by having this legislation in place and this legislation is worthwhile if it saves even one infant's life.

L.2000, c.58, s.2.

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Section 30:4C-15.7 - Designated sites for voluntary relinquishment of child; assumption of care, custody, control by Division of Child Protection and Permanency.