In most states a parent is considered to have abandoned a child if the parent does not make contact with the child and withholds financial support for a period of one or two years. Abandonment may be a basis to terminate a parent’s parental rights. But most states will not terminate a parent’s legal rights and obligations unless there is another adult—often a family member or stepparent—who wants to formally adopt the child.

Abandonment may result in criminal charges if a parent or guardian leaves a child under a certain age (15, for example) in any place and circumstance under which no reasonable adult would do so. For example, leaving a 8 year old child at the shopping mall may result in criminal charges of abandonment.

In Massachusetts, parental abandonment is addressed under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 119, Section 1, which defines abandonment as a parent's failure to provide necessary support for a child and to maintain contact, thereby showing a consistent lack of responsibility for the child's welfare. This can be grounds for the termination of parental rights if the court finds that such action is in the best interest of the child. However, Massachusetts law typically requires that there be someone willing to assume parental responsibility, such as through adoption, before terminating parental rights due to abandonment. Regarding criminal charges, under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 13L, a parent or guardian may face charges for wantonly or recklessly permitting bodily injury to a child or wantonly or recklessly permitting another to commit an assault and battery upon a child, which could encompass situations of abandonment that put the child's safety at risk. The specific circumstances, such as the age of the child and the situation in which they were left, would be factors in determining whether abandonment constitutes a criminal act.