An 18-year-old woman is in jail after being accused of leaving her baby with a stranger late Sunday night downtown San Antonio, which has sparked rising concern from child advocates.
San Antonio police were called to the 200 block of Broadway shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday for a disturbance.
Officers met with a woman who had a baby with her, but the child was not hers. The woman told officers that another woman, identified as Karla Ibarra no longer wanted her child and had given her the baby at a bus stop before leaving.
Police said Ibarra later returned to the location and was arrested.
The incident has left local child advocates asking what more can be done to connect struggling parents with help before a crisis reaches that point.
“In the heat and the desperation and in the mind of these young moms who are making some very devastating decisions, this is hard to see,” said Pam Allen, head of Eagles Flight Advocacy and Outreach.
Allen pointed to Texas’ Baby Moses Law, also known as the Safe Haven Law. It allows a parent to anonymously surrender an unharmed infant who is 60 days old or younger to a designated emergency infant care provider without facing prosecution for abandonment.
Allen said efforts have been made locally to increase awareness of the law, including a partnership involving Eagles Flight Advocacy and Outreach and VIA Metropolitan Transit that made Baby Moses information available on buses.
For Allen, the circumstances surrounding Sunday’s incident raise questions about whether parents in crisis are aware about the help available to them.
“Everything is in place, so what are we missing? What are we not seeing?” Allen said. “This is the scary part.”
Another option for families is Respite Care of San Antonio, which provides support for parents and caregivers.
The organization recently opened the region’s first crisis nursery as part of the Safety Nest Network collaborative. The program provides 24/7 support and brings together more than a dozen nonprofit organizations to assist children and families experiencing a crisis.
“We provide that respite care, that break for families,” said Jessica Rosales, chief operating officer with Respite Care of San Antonio.
Rosales said cases like Sunday’s underscore why the collaborative was created.
“It’s exactly why we started the Safety Nest Network Collaborative here in San Antonio, which is the first crisis nursery here in the San Antonio area,” Rosales said. “We have over 14 nonprofits working together to serve families, children in crisis, ensuring the safety of the children and families.”
To learn more about Respite Care of San Antonio, go here – https://respitecaresa.org/