Abandoned child reunited with Iraq-destined father
Mariah Verle Stevens, the infant who was abadoned by her mother last week at a Federal Way church, has been united with her father Clarke Stevens.
Stevens was apparently not aware that his ex-girlfriend was pregnant, as he was training with his National Guard unit in Wisconsin. Stevens, whose home is in Auburn, will be deployed to Iraq over the next 10 months, has been awarded full custody and will leave Mariah in the care of his mother until he returns.
The mother of the child turned herself into police the next day, mostly because surveillance video that caught her in the act and said that said that she believed that she was "doing the right thing." She has not been prosecuted, as in 2002, our state enacted the Newborn Safety Act, which allows mother to legally abandon healthy newborn infants who are less than 72 hours old.
I hope that this story turns out for the best. The mother of the child obviously is in no state to raise her offspring based on her giving up on the child. The fact that the father was left in an awkward position of not knowing that he had a daughter and than suddenly becoming the only option besides foster care leaves an uncertainty as to how he will deal with the responsibility of childcare. However, initial reports indicate that he has bonded with the child. One can only hope.
This could have been a sad case of abandonment that ended in the tragedy of a child living without a family. Hopefully the father of this child will ensure this is not the case.
