STATE STATUTES Current Through December 2016 WHAT’S INSIDE Who may leave a baby at Infant Safe Haven Laws a safe haven Many State legislatures have enacted legislation to Safe haven providers address infant abandonment and endangerment in Responsibilities of safe response to a reported increase in the abandonment haven providers of infants in unsafe locations, such as public restrooms or trash receptacles. Beginning in Texas Immunity for providers in 1999, “Baby Moses laws” or infant safe haven laws have been enacted as an incentive for mothers in Protections for parents crisis to safely relinquish their babies to designated Consequences of locations where the babies are protected and relinquishment provided with medical care until a permanent home is found. Safe haven laws generally allow the parent, Summaries of State laws or an agent of the parent, to remain anonymous and to be shielded from criminal liability and prosecution for child endangerment, abandonment, or neglect in To find statute exchange for surrendering the baby to a safe haven. information for a particular State, go to https://www.childwelfare. gov/topics/systemwide/ laws-policies/state/. Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS 800.394.3366 | Email:
[email protected] | https://www.childwelfare.gov Infant Safe Haven Laws https://www.childwelfare.gov To date, all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Safe Haven Providers Rico have enacted safe haven legislation.1 The focus of these laws is protecting newborns from endangerment by The purpose of safe haven laws is to ensure that providing parents an alternative to criminal abandonment, relinquished infants are left with persons who can provide and therefore the laws are generally limited to very the immediate care needed for their safety and well- young children.