2009 ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Child Abuse Intervention Fund supported Garden of Angels, a beautiful, peaceful “cemetery within a cemetery” created in 1996 to honor abandoned and unclaimed children and provide them a final special resting place. Since it opened, the bodies of 77 tiny children have been laid to rest within its quiet walls. These children, known to police and coroners only by numbers, have been found in trashcans or dumpsters, along roadways, washed up on beaches, or otherwise abandoned by their parents. Each is given a name, a grave marker, a beautiful funeral service and burial in the garden.

The Safe Arms for Newborns outreach and educational program has been created as a part of the Garden of Angels to help prevent the tragedy of newborn abandonment. Garden of Angels spearheaded the drive for SB 1368, the Newborn Abandonment Prevention Law, which allows parents of a newborn infant to legally surrender their baby anonymously and without fear of prosecution to a hospital emergency room or other designated agency. Since this law took effect in January 2001, 140 live infants have been safely surrendered and placed into foster or adoptive homes. 47 of 50 states have adoped similar legislation.

An educational campaign for Safe Arms for Newborns has been launched which includes a toll-free help line, public service announcements and printed advertisements. A video designed to reach out to young people as they discuss life issues and teen pregnancy in the classroom has also been developed.

CAIF provided ongoing financial support for Childsavers Inc., of Rockville, MD, which has a nationwide crisis hotline, referral service and guidance program for child advocates. Its professional staff prepares court-ordered evaluations, assists law enforcement agencies in pending cases, serves as liaison between Child Protective Service agencies and Social Service agencies and the courts, coordinates physical and psychological evaluations, and accompanies children and their families to court appearances in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.

CAIF supported the Care Net Option Line and Billboard Campaign, advising the public of alternatives to abortion. Over 180,000 callers were served last year.