Safe havens include hospitals, emergency medical facilities, fire stations, and police stations that have staff present.
In the 1980s while making her morning rounds before leaving Sheridan Road Hospital, night shift supervisor Donna Wrenn, RN, noticed a crumpled blanket in a doorway just off the parking lot.
"I thought it was probably kittens someone had dropped off for adoption," says Wrenn, an emergency room staff nurse at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. To her surprise, it was not kittens but a newborn baby who was quiet, alert, and still bloody from his birth. She quickly walked the baby to the ED where he was examined and found to be in good health.
To protect relinquished newborns and their parents, all 50 states now have some version of a safe haven law.
In Illinois, The Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act, more often referred to as the safe haven law that was enacted in 2001, allows a parent to anonymously relinquish an unharmed newborn who is 7 days old or less to the care and custody of staff at a designated safe haven. Safe havens include hospitals, emergency medical facilities, fire stations, and police stations that have staff present. All designated safe havens must have a safe haven sign posted in a conspicuous place on the exterior of the building.
The law provides parents an alternative to abandoning their baby in an unsafe place such as a Dumpster.
Provided the baby is unharmed, the parent may remain anonymous and is free to leave the safe haven at any time. No attempt will be made to locate parents after they leave. Safe haven babies are adopted and do not go into the foster care system. Since 2001, there have been 47 babies saved under the law in Illinois.
The majority of relinquished babies are brought to hospitals and handed to the arms of a nurse. Nurses are in a key position to assist parents who are legally relinquishing their baby and to educate hospital personnel about their role.
"I thought it was probably kittens someone had dropped off for adoption," says Wrenn, an emergency room staff nurse at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. To her surprise, it was not kittens but a newborn baby who was quiet, alert, and still bloody from his birth. She quickly walked the baby to the ED where he was examined and found to be in good health.
To protect relinquished newborns and their parents, all 50 states now have some version of a safe haven law.
In Illinois, The Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act, more often referred to as the safe haven law that was enacted in 2001, allows a parent to anonymously relinquish an unharmed newborn who is 7 days old or less to the care and custody of staff at a designated safe haven. Safe havens include hospitals, emergency medical facilities, fire stations, and police stations that have staff present. All designated safe havens must have a safe haven sign posted in a conspicuous place on the exterior of the building.
The law provides parents an alternative to abandoning their baby in an unsafe place such as a Dumpster.
Provided the baby is unharmed, the parent may remain anonymous and is free to leave the safe haven at any time. No attempt will be made to locate parents after they leave. Safe haven babies are adopted and do not go into the foster care system. Since 2001, there have been 47 babies saved under the law in Illinois.
The majority of relinquished babies are brought to hospitals and handed to the arms of a nurse. Nurses are in a key position to assist parents who are legally relinquishing their baby and to educate hospital personnel about their role.
Parental Rights
When a person hands a newborn to staff with the intent of not coming back or states he or she will not return, he or she is understood to be relinquishing the infant under the safe haven law. At this point, the hospital takes temporary protective custody of the baby. Nurses can assure the parent he or she will remain anonymous and will not be followed or pursued if the baby meets the criteria of the law.
To maintain anonymity, nurses should not ask the parent his or her name. A physician will examine the baby for abuse or neglect and determine if the infant is 7 days old or less. The mother also may be offered medical care although she is under no obligation to accept.
Depending on the situation, the nurse, social worker, nurse manager, or clinical specialist can offer parents a "Ready to Go" packet and inform them they will have to petition the court within 60 days to prevent the termination of parental rights.
If the mother alone relinquishes the baby, the Department of Children and Family Services searches its Putative Father Registry to protect the father's rights and verifies the relinquished infant is not a missing child. After the checks are completed and 60 days have passed, parental rights are terminated.
Within 12 hours after a newborn infant is accepted, a call must be placed to DCFS Central Registry to report a newborn has been relinquished under the protection act. Reporting in this manner alerts DCFS staff to begin contacting preselected adoption agencies.
When a person hands a newborn to staff with the intent of not coming back or states he or she will not return, he or she is understood to be relinquishing the infant under the safe haven law. At this point, the hospital takes temporary protective custody of the baby. Nurses can assure the parent he or she will remain anonymous and will not be followed or pursued if the baby meets the criteria of the law.
To maintain anonymity, nurses should not ask the parent his or her name. A physician will examine the baby for abuse or neglect and determine if the infant is 7 days old or less. The mother also may be offered medical care although she is under no obligation to accept.
Depending on the situation, the nurse, social worker, nurse manager, or clinical specialist can offer parents a "Ready to Go" packet and inform them they will have to petition the court within 60 days to prevent the termination of parental rights.
If the mother alone relinquishes the baby, the Department of Children and Family Services searches its Putative Father Registry to protect the father's rights and verifies the relinquished infant is not a missing child. After the checks are completed and 60 days have passed, parental rights are terminated.
Within 12 hours after a newborn infant is accepted, a call must be placed to DCFS Central Registry to report a newborn has been relinquished under the protection act. Reporting in this manner alerts DCFS staff to begin contacting preselected adoption agencies.
Getting 'Ready to Go'
Each hospital should create a "Ready to Go" packet for parents that contains information about the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange, written notice of the process terminating parental rights, a list of counselors, and a family medical history form. Completion of some or all of these forms by the parents is voluntary, and they still can remain anonymous. It is helpful if the packet includes preaddressed envelopes with adequate postage.
Forms for the packet can be found at www.SaveAbandonedBabies.org, which offers a copy of a protocol for hospitals and provides forms for the parent packet.
A safe relinquishment takes the education of all personnel at a safe haven. Everyone at a safe haven needs to consider how he or she might react when someone chooses this legal option to keep a baby safe. If the parent is treated fairly, he or she will be more likely to fill out the forms needed for the "Ready to Go" packet.
Each hospital should create a "Ready to Go" packet for parents that contains information about the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange, written notice of the process terminating parental rights, a list of counselors, and a family medical history form. Completion of some or all of these forms by the parents is voluntary, and they still can remain anonymous. It is helpful if the packet includes preaddressed envelopes with adequate postage.
Forms for the packet can be found at www.SaveAbandonedBabies.org, which offers a copy of a protocol for hospitals and provides forms for the parent packet.
A safe relinquishment takes the education of all personnel at a safe haven. Everyone at a safe haven needs to consider how he or she might react when someone chooses this legal option to keep a baby safe. If the parent is treated fairly, he or she will be more likely to fill out the forms needed for the "Ready to Go" packet.
Jennifer B. Rousseau, WHNP, is an assistant professor at Rush University College of Nursing in Chicago, and Judy Friedrichs, RN, MS, CT, is an education/QI coordinator and perinatal death educator/grief counselor for women's and children's services at Rush University Medical Center. To comment, e-mail editorIL@nursingspectrum.com.
