• Learn about child abandonment.child image by Renata Osinska from Fotolia.com
  
  Columbia is the capital of South Carolina. Since laws for child abandonment vary by state and not municipality, South Carolina state laws apply in Columbia. Child abandonment laws were enacted to help protect the safety and welfare of children by ensuring they are supervised by an adult at all times.
  
  

Willful Abandonment

• South Carolina Code Annotated Section 20-7-5 makes it illegal for a person to willfully abandon their child as the child's parent or someone who has charge or custody of the minor child. It is also illegal for a person in charge of a child or having custody of a child, to put the child in a situation where his life, safety, health, physical or mental well being is in jeopardy or cause bodily harm to the child that puts the child's health at risk.
  
  

Penalty

• The penalty for willful abandonment in South Carolina is a felony punishable by fine or imprisonment of up to 10 years. The applicable fine and jail sentence upon conviction is made at the court's discretion. The court can also award both a fine and jail sentence in its discretion. Parents may also temporarily or permanently lose custody of their children or rights to visitation if convicted of child abandonment.
  
  

Safe Haven Laws

• All new mothers can anonymously surrender an infant that is less than a month old without penalty under South Carolina's safe haven laws. All hospitals, fire stations, police stations and churches in South Carolina are safe havens. The mother is not required to give any information about herself, the father or the baby. Once handed over the baby will be examined and eventually placed for adoption.