Quote Originally Posted by finn's mom
And, I don't know, is there a way for mothers and/or fathers to give up their children safely and legally when they get in a situation where they can't take care of them anymore? Instead of just leaving them in stores or parking lots where anyone could pick them up?
You may be thinking of the Baby Safe Haven law that some states hav, but that is meant for infants - newborn to 30 days old in New Jersey, for example. In Massachusetts and some other places it's 7 days old ...

http://www.njsafehaven.org/

http://www.babysafehaven.com/

But this child is a toddler, poor thing. There are social services she might have been able to use, maybe she just wasn't thinking clearly.