Child abandonment laws in Louisiana operate on two tracks. The criminal track is called child desertion under Revised Statutes 14:93.2.1, and a first offense carries up to a $500 fine, up to six months in jail, or both.1Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:93.2.1 – Child Desertion The civil track can strip a parent of custody and, eventually, of parental rights altogether. The two tracks often run at the same time, and the conduct that triggers one usually triggers the other.
What Counts as Child Desertion
Louisiana’s criminal code does not use the phrase “child abandonment.” The offense is child desertion, and it reaches two kinds of conduct involving a child under ten. The first is intentionally or through criminal negligence exposing the child to a hazard or danger the child cannot reasonably protect against. The second is deserting or abandoning the child while knowing, or having reason to know, that such a danger could follow.1Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:93.2.1 – Child Desertion
The statute applies to anyone with “care, custody, or control” of the child at the time. That is broader than parents. Stepparents, grandparents, foster parents, and babysitters can all be charged. And the state does not have to prove the person meant to end the relationship forever. Criminal negligence is enough, which is a lower bar than most people assume. A young child left alone at home, in a hot car, or with someone the caregiver knew to be dangerous can all fit the statute.
The ten-year age cutoff matters. Desertion of an older child is prosecuted under different provisions, such as Louisiana’s cruelty to juveniles statute.
Criminal Penalties
A first conviction is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both.2Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Laws – Child Desertion RS 14:93.2.1
On a second or subsequent conviction, jail time becomes mandatory. The judge must impose both a fine of up to $500 and a jail sentence of no less than 30 days and no more than six months. At least 30 of those days must be served without probation or suspension.2Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Laws – Child Desertion RS 14:93.2.1
Facts drive sentencing. A brief lapse in a safe location is treated differently from days-long abandonment in a dangerous setting. When the child is actually harmed or the conduct is especially reckless, prosecutors may layer on additional charges such as cruelty to juveniles or criminal neglect, which carry substantially harsher penalties.
Losing Custody
An abandoned child usually enters the civil system before, or alongside, any criminal case. Under Children’s Code Article 606, a child qualifies as a Child in Need of Care when a parent’s disappearance or prolonged absence leaves the child without food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision, or when that absence puts the child at substantial risk of imminent harm.3Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Children’s Code Art. 606 – Grounds for Child in Need of Care
These proceedings are civil and focus on the child’s safety, not on punishing the parent. A judge can order in-home services, place the child with a relative, or give temporary custody to the Department of Children and Family Services. The stated goal is reunification when it can be done safely. When it cannot, the case can move toward termination of parental rights.
Even outside a Child in Need of Care case, abandonment weighs heavily in ordinary custody disputes. Louisiana courts decide custody by the best-interest standard, and a parent with a history of desertion or long silence rarely comes out with primary custody. Visitation can be supervised, restricted, or denied outright when past conduct raises safety concerns, and rebuilding unsupervised contact is difficult even after counseling or other court-ordered programs.
Termination of Parental Rights
Termination is the permanent end of the legal parent-child relationship. Once a court grants it, the parent has no right to custody, visitation, or any say in the child’s life, and the child becomes available for adoption. Louisiana’s Children’s Code lists abandonment as a specific ground.4Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Children’s Code Art. 1015 – Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights
Three situations each qualify as abandonment for termination purposes, and any one alone is enough:
- The parent’s whereabouts have been unknown for at least four months as of the hearing date, despite a diligent search.
- The parent has failed to make significant contributions to the child’s care and support for any six consecutive months before the petition is filed.
- The parent has failed to visit or communicate with the child for any six consecutive months before the petition is filed.
DCFS files most termination petitions, though a court can also appoint private counsel to bring one.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Children’s Code Art. 1004 – Petition for Termination of Parental Rights Federal law adds pressure: abandonment is classified as an aggravated circumstance under the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which can let the state skip the usual reasonable-efforts requirement toward reunification.
The Safe Haven Alternative for Newborns
Louisiana’s Safe Haven Law gives parents in crisis a way to place a newborn into care without committing a crime. A parent can surrender an infant up to 60 days old to a designated site anonymously, and the statute itself says the program exists so parents can relinquish infants “in safety, anonymity, and without fear of prosecution.”6Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Children’s Code Art. 1149 – Safe Haven Relinquishments If the baby spent time in a NICU, the 60-day clock runs from discharge rather than birth.7Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services. About Safe Haven
Designated locations include any Louisiana-licensed hospital, parish public health units and licensed rural health clinics during business hours, ambulatory surgical centers and federally qualified health centers, staffed fire stations, staffed police or sheriff’s stations, and authorized newborn safety devices. A parent who cannot travel can call 911, and responders will come, confirm the relinquishment, and transport the baby to a hospital. No name or explanation is required.7Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services. About Safe Haven
Safe Haven surrender is not child desertion. The parent is handing the child directly to someone who can care for it. Compliance with the law is a complete defense for a parent of a newborn.
Defending a Child Desertion Charge
Because the statute covers both intentional and negligent conduct, the defense depends on the theory the state is pursuing. If prosecutors allege intentional exposure to danger, showing the absence of intent is the point. Unforeseen emergencies, medical crises, or genuine misunderstandings about where the child was and with whom can all undercut that theory.
When the charge rests on criminal negligence, the question is whether the parent’s conduct fell below a reasonable standard. Leaving the child with another responsible adult, arranging supervision, and making sure the child had food and shelter all point toward reasonable care, even if the arrangement was imperfect.
A third line of defense goes to the danger element itself. The statute requires that the child was exposed to, or could have been exposed to, a hazard the child could not reasonably protect against. Context is decisive. A nine-year-old left in a safe home for half an hour is not the same case as a toddler left near a busy road, and the difference can be the difference between a conviction and an acquittal.