WILDER — Northern Kentucky state and county prosecutors, along with officials from area hospitals, committed Friday to a program designed to prevent the abandonment of newborns.

        Though some details still need to be worked out, the program - patterned after one already in use in Hamilton County - should begin July 1 if not sooner, said state Rep. Jim Callahan, D-Wilder.

        It is designed to prevent parents, particularly teens, from abandoning and possibly killing newborns.

        “We need to get this moving,” said Mr. Callahan, who is leading the effort. “Every day we wait is another day that something tragic could happen.”

        Under the program, parents could anonymously turn over newborns to hospitals within 72 hours of their birth and not be prosecuted for abandonment.
       

Hospitals sign on
        St. Luke and St. Elizabeth, which operate four Northern Kentucky hospitals in Covington, Fort Thomas, Edgewood and Florence, have agreed to participate.

        The babies would be cared for at the hospitals while state social workers find a foster home. Ultimately, the babies would be adopted, officials said.

        Legislation that would have created a statewide program was filed with the Kentucky General Assembly earlier this year, but the bill was never called for a vote.

        Mr. Callahan said the abandonment deaths of newborns in Kentucky this year — one in a dorm room at Murray State University and the other in a portable restroom in Grayson County — prompted his concern to start a Northern Kentucky program.
       

Number on rise
        He cited statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that showed 108 newborn babies were abandoned in public places in 1998 and 33 of them died. Those numbers were up from 1991, when 65 babies were abandoned and eight died.

        Northern Kentucky prosecutors said during a meeting on the program Friday that while they support the effort, they want to be careful when it comes to prosecuting any crimes.

        “If a baby is abandoned and also harmed in any way, we will do all we can, including talking to the police, to find the perpetrator and we will prosecute,” said Campbell County Commonwealth Attorney Jack Porter.

        “I don't have the power (under Kentucky law) to grant immunity, and while we want to participate in the program, we aren't going to let crimes go unpunished,” Mr. Porter said.

        Karl Kadon, chief assistant for Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen, suggested Northern Kentucky officials adopt language similar to what Hamilton County uses.

        “We say the baby has to be unharmed,” Mr. Kadon said. “This is not an immunity program for child abusers. But it is intended to get these kids out of bad situations.”

        Kenton County Attorney Garry Edmondson said prosecutors must have the discretion to consider whether a child has been intentionally or accidentally harmed.
       

Some reservations
        “It's a little bit of fuzzy area,” Mr. Edmondson said. “We'll have to decide if a child was intentionally harmed or hurt through negligence. Remember, these babies aren't being born in hospitals.”

        Other prosecutors participating are Boone County Attorney Larry Crigler; Boone County Commonwealth Attorney Linda Tally Smith; Campbell County Attorney Justin Verst; and Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Bill Crockett.

        Since Hamilton County started its program in August 2000, just one baby has been turned over.

        “But success begets success,” Mr. Kadon said. “The more people hear and know about the program, the more people will participate.”

        Rep. Jon Draud, R-Crestview Hills, suggested contacting school superintendents and getting information about the program in high schools.

        The United Way has agreed to send information about the program to employers that contribute to the social service agency.

        And organizers are looking for a printer that might want to donate posters and other printed material. Interested printers should contact Karla Webb, director of public relations at the St. Elizabeth Medical Centers, at 292-4300.

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