Many states and territories now provide definitions for child abandonment in their reporting laws. In general, it is considered abandonment of the child when the parent's identity or whereabouts are unknown, the child has been left by the parent in circumstances where the child suffers serious harm, or the parent has failed to maintain contact with the child or to provide reasonable support for a specific period of time.

Another form of abandonment or physical neglect is expulsion of a child from the home or refusal to allow a runaway to return home.