Apr 8, 2001 - The View From/Greenwich; For Abandoned Baby, It's Love to the Rescue - New York Times

IT was a stormy start for Baby John Doe, who was born during a rainstorm and left abandoned on the side of a cul-de-sac called Stormy Circle Drive in the Byram section of Greenwich.

But the skies have cleared since that morning in March, when a woman walking in the area found the infant naked and swaddled in a cloth, and rushed to call 911.

After being taken to Greenwich Hospital and treated for hypothermia and exposure, the infant is not only doing fine physically, but he is also attracting the attention of countless people who want to help him, to love him, to give him a home.

By Tuesday afternoon, the baby boy not only had his own lawyer and several sacks stuffed with presents, but he also left the hospital to settle in with his pre-adoptive family. The family was selected by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, which would only say that t 1/2e family lives in Connecticut.

Rachel Wehmeier, a nurse in the neonatal intensive-care unit who was among the many nurses who cared for the infant during the last two weeks, said, ''God is certainly watching over him,'' adding that the nurses had ''all fallen in love with him.''

Ms. Wehmeier said that the family who received the baby would ''be blessed, because he is a beautiful, special boy.''

Deputy Chief James Walters of the Greenwich Police Department said a woman who lives in the Stormy Circle Drive area, whose name is being withheld, called 911 at 12:20 p.m. on March 22 after she spotted ''what appeared to be a small blanket that had some movement'' while she was walking along the roadside.

''Officers responded, found the bundle, unwrapped it and found an infant inside,'' Deputy Chief Walters said. ''He was rushed to the hospital where doctors confirmed he had been born no more than two hours prior.''

Police officers canvassed the area searching for anyone with information about the baby, a 5-pound 5-ounce, 19-inch African-American boy. But as of Thursday morning, no one had found the biological parents.

''We have several leads in Connecticut and New York and we're continuing to follow those,'' Deputy Chief Walters said.

He would not say what charges would be filed, if any.

''We're not even characterizing this as a crime at this point,'' Deputy Chief Walters said. ''We can't talk about charges until we find out what happened and why.''

The police and the Department of Children and Families said they believed it was the first abandonment case in the history of Greenwich, a mostly well-to-do community in Fairfield County with about 65,000 residents. Byram is a working-class community in the southwestern section, just across the Byram River from Port Chester, N.Y.

David Marantz, appointed by the Stamford Superior Court to be the baby's lawyer, said, ''This is the story of a baby who had a tough beginning, but whose life has already turned around to be wonderful, because of all the love around him.''

In abandonment cases where the parents are not known, the standard process is for the Department of Children and Families to publish a notice in the local newspaper and to ask a juvenile court to terminate the parental rights, Mr. Marantz said.

That process could take several months, during which time the child would be cared for in a pre-adoptive foster home. Kristine Ragaglia, commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, said that the temporary home ''could very likely become his permanent home.''

The department spent several days poring through a pool of licensed pre-adoptive families, narrowing the choice to six and finally to one last Monday. The decision did not take into account the parents' race, Ms. Ragaglia said, but it did require choosing a family that did not mind being ''legal risk pre-adoptive parents,'' which means there is a chance the pre-adoptive parents will have to return the baby if the biological parents show up and seek custody during the legal termination process.

''While that court process is going on, there's always a question mark,'' Ms. Ragaglia said. ''Emotionally, it can be a difficult process. But so far, no biological family or purported relatives have come forward, which makes things much easier.''

As for the family that was selected to care for the infant, Ms. Ragaglia said, ''There's not much I can tell you specifically because of confidentiality laws, but I guess it's safe to say they are very excited.''

The baby had remained at the hospital until Tuesday, not because of health problems, but because of the placement process.

''We're working on a permanency plan which involves having the pre-adoptive parents visit the baby in the hospital, learn all about the particular needs of the child, make absolutely certain that this is the right match,'' Ms. Ragaglia said. ''Our hope is that the pre-adoptive family will become the baby's permanent family.''

Gary Kleeblatt, spokesman for the Department of Children and Families, said: ''As tragic as it is that someone abandoned this infant, a lot of good has actually come of it. It's like the whole topic of adoption and caring for children in need has been galvanized by this child.''

The department has received a flood of calls from people offering to adopt the baby, Mr. Kleeblatt said. ''So many of these people who have called are now considering going through the process of becoming licensed and adopting another baby who may need a home,'' he said.

Mr. Kleeblatt credited Ms. Ragaglia with the department's rising number of adoptions in recent years. He said that since Ms. Ragaglia became commissioner in 1997, the number of adoptions statewide had nearly quadrupled, from 146 to 602 in 2000.

In Connecticut, there are 261 children in the custody of the Department of Children and Families who need homes. Of the 261, 148 are boys and 113 girls. Also, 114 of the children are African-American, 87 are Caucasian, 41 Latino and 19 are listed as other.

''There are 160 adoptive homes looking for children to complete their families,'' Ms. Ragaglia said.

Ms. Wehmeier, Baby John Doe's nurse, said she hoped the infant's story would inspire more people to adopt children.

''I'm adopted myself, so I know how important this is,'' said Ms. Wehmeier, who is in her early 30's. ''It's not that I wasn't wanted, but my parents understood that they couldn't care for me and they gave me up at birth. But I consider my adoptive parents my real parents, I love them so much. They live in the midwest and we talk every single week.''

Mr. Marantz said he hoped the Baby John Doe case would promote awareness of the safe haven law enacted last year. The law enables a mother to go to a hospital, deliver her child, get treatment and surrender custody to the hospital without being prosecuted.

''There should never be another baby abandoned on the street or in a Dumpster or anywhere for any reason, ever,'' he said.