On January 1, 2001, a new law went into effect, which intends to end the tragedy of newborns being abandoned by parents who are not emotionally or financially able to care for them, and reduce the tragic loss of life when parents of newborns react out of fear and panic.

Safe Delivery Law (also known as The Child Abandonment Law) allows parents to surrender their newborn without being prosecuted, if the infant is 72 hours old or less and unharmed, to a uniformed or otherwise identified employee of a fire department, hospital, or police station, (also known as an ESP-Emergency Service Provider) that is inside the building. The parent is not under any obligation to leave any identifying information, but they may leave information with the understanding that any information given will not be made public.

The parent will be informed that by surrendering the newborn they are releasing the newborn to be placed for adoption. The parent will also be informed that they have 28 days to petition the court to regain custody of their baby. If the parent decides to not regain custody, there will be a public hearing to terminate parental rights. There will be a public notice of the hearing, however, the parent will not be notified even if their identity is known. The infant will then be placed for adoption as soon as the parental rights have been legally terminated.

To learn more about the Safe Delivery Law Program please call toll free 1-800-733-7733.