INDIANAPOLIS — Two infants have been surrendered in Indiana — one inside a Safe Haven Baby Box — in the past 30 days.
The babies were surrendered in Allen County and Kosciusko County, Indiana. Safe Haven Baby Boxes is not releasing which infant was surrendered in a box and which was surrendered to a person at a Safe Haven location. They are also not releasing the exact date of the surrender to protect the anonymity of the mothers.
Since 2016, Safe Haven Baby Boxes has assisted 76 women with surrendering their newborns and 8 infants have been placed in baby boxes.
“We know the Safe Haven Baby Boxes program is working to end infant abandonment and save lives. Our organization has had a record number of surrenders in the last 30 days in a baby box or with the assistance of Safe Haven Baby Boxes National Crisis Hotline. Indiana has also not had a deceased infant from abandonment since we installed the first Safe Haven Baby Box in April 2016.”, says Monica Kelsey, Founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
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There are currently 23 Safe Haven Baby Boxes in the state of Indiana.
The goal of boxes is to make it so mothers have a safe place to surrender their newborns anonymously.
Baby boxes are safe incubators that have alarm systems, so 911 is notified as soon as a baby is placed inside. The baby boxes also have heating and cooling features.
Indiana's Safe Haven law allows people to anonymously surrender their healthy infants at any fire station in the state without fear of criminal prosecution.
The Safe Haven Baby Box organization also staffs a 24-hour hotline (1-866-99BABY1), so parents can talk to trained professionals about possibly surrendering their baby. You can also visit the Safe Haven Baby Box website for more information including locations.
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Eight babies have been surrendered inside Safe Haven Baby Boxes since the first was installed in 2016. Two other babies have been surrendered at fire stations with Safe Haven Baby Boxes. Nationwide, 76 surrenders have resulted from calls to the Safe Haven Baby Boxes national hotline and 7 of those surrenders in 2019.
