A baby found abandoned on Friday already has a family-in-waiting eager to take her in as a foster child, Family Minister Dolores Cristina confirmed yesterday.
Newborn Carla, wrapped in shawl and sleeping in a duffel bag, was found on the doorstep of the Ursuline sisters’ convent in Rabat on Friday morning.
She was taken to hospital for testing and observation, where she remains for the time being. She is said to be eating and sleeping well. Police are also investigating the case.
Ms Cristina confirmed she had signed a temporary care order for Carla (the name given to the baby by the nuns) on Friday evening, effectively bringing her directly under the ministry’s care.
The temporary order is valid for a period of 21 days. Once it lapses, it will become permanent.
Neither of baby Carla’s parents have made themselves known. If they come forward within the next three weeks, Carla’s familial fate will be determined by a magisterial hearing.
The hearing will take into account any police findings, the advice of social workers and the parents’ individual circumstances.
“No two cases are the same,” a spokesman for Appoġġ, the social agency, said. “These cases are quite rare, and each one needs to be assessed on its own merits.
“There isn’t a process which is set in stone,” the spokesman explained.
Ilona Debono, a family lawyer, laid out some of the potential scenarios. “If the mother or father do come forward, the courts have a number of options, depending on the individual circumstances.
“They may decide to make the care order permanent. They may decide to give the parents visitation rights. Or they could also give baby Carla directly back to her parents.”
Dr Debono, however, conceded that this last scenario was “unlikely”. The court’s paramount concern, she added, was that baby Carla’s best interests were safeguarded.
When, in April 2007, a newborn baby boy was discovered in a cardboard shoebox in a Cospicua alleyway, he was taken into care despite the mother coming forward.
The mother was granted visitation rights and the situation was analysed by social workers. On their recommendation, the children and young persons advisory board decided to reunite mother and child, 10 weeks after the incident.
If Carla’s parents are identified, they may be charged with abandonment. If found guilty, they could face a prison sentence of between seven months and one year.
Baby Carla’s foster parents now wait for their new family member with bated breath, and they will be eager to give her a normal upbringing. An 18-month period must pass, however, before she can be adopted.
“I don’t want to pass judgment on the mother. I suspect she’s extremely vulnerable,” the Appoġġ spokesman said.
“Thankfully these cases are rare in Malta – we seem to have strong family networks which prevent situations coming to this – which makes it all the more shocking. But ultimately, nobody knows what’s going through the mother’s mind.”