‘Moses’ Is Only 1 of Hundreds

As tragic as his abandonment was, “Baby Moses” is one of the lucky ones.

He is young, barely 2 months old. He is Caucasian. His pitiful face and the story of his discovery made headlines, pulling on the consciences of hundreds of potential parents who offered to give him a home. Despite what he’s been through, he shows no apparent signs of physical abuse. He is healthy.

He is being called a gift.

But when Baby Moses was found deserted in a wicker basket last month, he joined the ranks of nearly 800 Orange County children waiting for new lives. They need parents. They need homes.

“We have a large number of children who we wish could get the same kind of attention that Baby Moses did,” said Michael L. Riley, director of children and family services in Orange County. “In many ways, they would love to be in his shoes.”

The orphans range in age from newborns to teenagers. They live in foster homes or group homes. Some are in various stages of the adoption process, although that is a less likely scenario for the hundreds of children older than 10, Riley said. Many have been neglected or abused or have medical problems, all of which can make them less attractive to prospective parents.

People want infants, he said. Like Baby Moses.

More than 200 calls came for the emaciated baby in the days after he was found. Dozens of others went to the Police Department, from people wanting to know how he was doing. Many wanted to visit him. Many more wanted to adopt him. Others offered money to help pay for his medical care.

“We had people just calling to check on his condition,” said Andrea Pronk, a spokeswoman for Children’s Hospital of Orange County, where he was hospitalized. “People brought him clothes and dropped off gifts. It was constant.”

County officials say they are encouraged by the level of interest and support they typically receive whenever there is publicity about a child in crisis. But the underlying hope is that would-be parents will extend that attention to the county’s other children in need. Foster families and adoptive parents are always in demand, Riley said.

But too often the urgency that many people feel about rescuing a child like Baby Moses dwindles when they realize what adoption entails, he said.

“We are not a store,” Riley said. “We don’t want to discourage anyone from trying to help, but they cannot expect to walk in and get a child just like that.”

Besides performing extensive background checks, officials inspect the homes of potential adoptive parents and interview them at length, he said. The process can take a year or more. The system is similar for couples hoping to become foster parents. There are about 640 active foster families in Orange County.

“The bottom line is: Yes, we need all the help we can get,” Riley said. “And if we can use the Baby Moseses to help the large numbers of kids already waiting to be adopted, that would be great. It would be more than great, it would be fabulous.”

For information on becoming a foster parent or adopting a child in Orange County, call (714) 704-8704.