Kentucky recently saw the first infant dropped off anonymously into a designated baby box after the state legislature passed the Safe Infants Act in 2021.
Doing away with the need for parents to surrender their infants in person, the law allows infants under 30 days old to be placed in active baby boxes located outside fire stations, police departments, and hospitals, where they will receive immediate attention and care.
The baby boxes are complex. They are climate controlled and connected to a dispatch system that alerts emergency officials when a baby is put inside. Once an infant is inside, it cannot be opened without a key. Those fabricated by Safe Haven Baby Boxes cost $15,000 each.
Founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes Monica Kelsey said the baby was dropped off within the last week. Firefighters were able to get the baby and take care of it in less than two minutes, according to the Courier Journal. Kelsey declined to give any more details due to the anonymous nature of the boxes.
“This baby is healthy. This baby is beautiful. This baby is perfect,” said Kelsey, who added that officials are now looking to place the child in “a forever home.”
There are 134 active baby boxes in the country in places like Arizona, Ohio, Tennessee, Louisiana, and several other states, according to the founding organization’s website.
Florida saw its first infant surrender at the start of the year in the state’s only baby box located at an Ocala fire station.
While there are no Safe Haven Boxes in Texas, the state was the first to pass a safe haven law while George W. Bush was governor in 1999. The law stipulates that parents can hand over their babies to hospitals, fire stations, or other locations with a yellow “Safe Baby Site” sign up to 60 days after birth without facing criminal charges.
In Dallas, a greater emphasis was placed on making signage visible in the aftermath of a newborn girl being found abandoned in the trash at a 7-Eleven bathroom in 2017. According to reporting by WFAA, 23 city fire stations out of 58 did not have yellow “Safe Baby Site” signs posted outside at the time.
According to data from the Department of Family and Protective Services, 172 infants have been surrendered in this way in the Lone Star State since 2009.