SANTA FE SPRINGS : Charity That Provided Burials for Babies Folds

A foundation that provided dignified funeral services for abandoned infants, many of whom were found dead in trash cans, has gone out of business.

Child Rest in Peace, which was founded by Ellis and Rose Horton in 1991, had been supported by the couple’s carpet-installation business. But the firm closed last year.

The remaining $5,000 of foundation assets has been transferred to Tuesday’s Child, a nonprofit organization in Culver City that helps families with HIV-infected infants or parents.

Child Rest in Peace was founded after the Hortons learned of a dead baby girl found in a dumpster behind a Downey apartment building. They buried the child in a cemetery plot sold at a reduced rate by Rose Hills Memorial Park near Whittier. The foundation provided burials for 13 infants.

Child-welfare officials said the foundation had provided an important service.

“Putting to rest children who are not celebrated when they are born and are not mourned when they die is a critical issue,” said Deanne Tilton Durfee, executive director of the Interagency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect, a group of public and private agencies. “I hope someone else will pick up the gauntlet.”