This past December marked the fourth Safe Haven surrender of a healthy newborn in 2020.
The Safe Haven law, which went into effect in August 2000, allows infants up to 30 days old who are free of abuse or neglect to be anonymously surrendered to staff at hospital emergency rooms, police or fire stations and ambulance or rescue squads.
Once cleared by a medical professional, the infants are placed in an adoptive home by the Division of Child Protection and Permanency.
Due to confidentiality statutes and the promise of anonymity for the parent or parents, the state will not publicly share the gender of the infant or the exact date and location of the surrender.