By Matt Andazola
Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 2-month-old infant is in foster care after two friends of his mother dropped him off at a fire station Wednesday afternoon.The couple told firefighters and responding police officers that the boy’s mother left him with them March 31, saying she would return by Monday, said Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Robert Gibbs.
She didn’t return.
“It was a surprise to them,” said Clint Anderson, a Fire Department driver and medic at Fire Station 5, near Central and Pennsylvania NE, where the couple brought the baby because they were unprepared to care for him long term.
“This was the best of all circumstances, considering what we see every day on the streets.”
Firefighters looked after the baby while police interviewed the couple.
“You feel a great deal of sympathy,” Anderson said. Many of the firefighters are fathers themselves and took turns holding the baby, he said. “There was no shortage of love.”
The state Children Youth and Families Department was notified about the child at about 5 p.m. Wednesday, said CYFD spokesman Enrique C. Knell.
As of Thursday night, the baby was in a foster home, Knell said. The department was trying to contact the mother or other relatives, Knell said. If anyone is found, CYFD will investigate to ensure the environment is safe before moving the baby from its current foster home. If not, a permanent home will be found through the existing foster care system.
Gibbs said it appears one member of the couple who dropped the baby off at the fire station was given power of attorney for the child, so it’s unlikely either the couple or the mother will face charges in this case.
The power of attorney allows someone to act on the child’s behalf, such as in a medical emergency.
Though the circumstances are similar, the state’s infant safe haven law probably doesn’t apply in this case.
Under New Mexico law, a mother can relinquish her parental rights by leaving a baby, up to the age of 90 days, at a hospital, fire station, police station or child welfare office without fear of prosecution.
Copyright 2012 Albuquerque Journal