A disabled baby girl who was abandoned by her mother in a Washington, DC hospital has finally been given a proper name and her birth certificate four months after she was born.
Baby Justyce and those caring for her had been waiting for months for the proper paperwork to get the health insurance she needed for childbirth complications.
The four-month-old – whose mother had battled drug addiction and mental illness before her death – needs physical therapy for paralysis in her right arm.
It had been an uphill battle for Justyce’s adoptive mother, Yolanda Allen-Little, who had gone through a bureaucratic saga just trying to get her papers.
Allen-Little had hired an attorney to help with the situation and it took several motions to be filed in DC Superior Court to satisfy the demand.
“I feel like a burden has been lifted,” Allen-Little told The Washington Post.
A baby girl who was abandoned by her mother in a Washington, D.C. hospital has finally been given a proper name and her birth certificate four months after she was born
Allen-Little, who was once an adoptive mother to Justyce’s birth mother, Jessica, spoke to the Post to share the baby’s difficult journey.
According to the adoptive mother, she had stayed in contact with Jessica over the years as she struggled with mental illness and addiction.
Just before Justyce was born, Jessica had been in a mental ward and saw Allen-Little who begged her to stay there to get the help she needed.
The woman said Jessica promised to stay, but then ran away that night. Allen-Little then received a call that Jessica had delivered and left the baby.
She allegedly told a social worker that she wanted her own former adoptive mother to bring Justyce home.
When Justyce was born, she had cocaine in her system. She was placed in the care of Allen-Little 10 days after her birth.
The woman was in Turkey when Justyce was born and then had to care for her elderly mother for several days. At the time, she said she had no idea if the baby was being held or loved.
“It just made me feel bad knowing she was waiting up there with no one to love her,” she told The Washington Post.
Baby Justyce and those caring for her had been waiting for months for the proper paperwork to get the health insurance she needed for childbirth complications
The four-month-old – whose mother had battled drug addiction and mental illness before her death – needs physical therapy for right arm paralysis
Allen-Little was never told she could take Justyce as an adoptive parent rather than through informal placement.
This would have given the woman access to government funds and an immediate birth certificate, The Washington Post shared.
The informal placement ended up causing more headaches for everyone involved.
“We were kind of in a waiting pattern, where we didn’t know what else to do,” said Marla Spindel, Allen-Little’s attorney.
Spindel is the executive director of DC KinCare Alliance, a nonprofit that helps family members who take children for loved ones.
Allen-Little was referred to Spindel by a judge who recommended that she contact the agency for help with her case.
Fortunately, Spindel said other people came to help the child and his needs.
“I’ve had so many calls and emails from people wanting to help,” Spindel said.
“Some people drop off diapers and formula at our office. There are people who just called to find out what happened with the baby or what they can do. People really just showed their humanity, and it’s amazing, the outpouring of love and support,” the lawyer said.
Justyce’s mother died, leaving her guardianship in a precarious situation after her birth
“They say it takes a village and the villagers have moved on,” Allen-Little said. “She really created a serious village.”
A GoFundMe put together for Baby Justyce raised over $30,000.
Funds raised will help cover legal and hospital costs as well as an education for Justyce when she grows up.
A community has gathered around the baby to support her in every way possible.
“They say it takes a village and the villagers have moved on,” Allen-Little said. “She really created a serious village.”
Through it all, the adoptive mother told her that she just wanted Justyce “to know that she matters, that her life matters.”
Allen-Little said the community that came together for this little girl, some people donated thousands to the campaign.
“They show her that she matters,” she said.
