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Drop Your Baby Here

A Look at California's Safely Surrendered Baby Law

BY ROBERT KUMPEL

On October 7, 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation making 2001's Safely Surrendered Baby Law permanent. Under the law, which is also called the Safe Haven law, any parent or person with lawful custody of a baby can surrender a baby within three days of birth to a public hospital, emergency room, designated fire station, or other designated site, no questions asked. Babies are given medical treatment and placed in foster care or pre-adoptive homes. The parent or guardian has a 14-day grace period to reclaim the baby. The grace period is safeguarded by giving the surrendering parent a bracelet that matches one given the baby.

The State of California estimates that from the law's inception through January 2006, 122 newborns were surrendered. Fifty one of them were surrendered in 2005, making it the most successful year since the law was implemented. Unfortunately, 130 infants have been found illegally abandoned during the same period.

One person who has followed the development of surrendered baby laws is Debi Faris-Cifelli, founder of the Garden of Angels in Yucaipa, a foundation that arranges funerals and burials for abandoned babies. "We were the ones who, with State Senator Jim Brulte in 2000, worked to pass a Safe Haven law in the state of California. We did it because we were burying the bodies of all the children who have been found in trashcans and dumpsters. We really wanted to go out there and try to prevent this from happening."

"The Safe Haven law is really just a safety net for the babies. We're trying to reach people ahead of time, so they will get pre-natal care for their baby and make wise decisions for the child, whether they plan to raise it themselves, or if they can't. Then we can place it for adoption."

Faris-Cifelli says that the state's statistics on abandoned children need to be updated. "There have now been 134 babies safely surrendered, so the number has increased by 12. This has tremendously reduced the number of babies I've had to take care of."

She feels honored to give abandoned children a proper burial, but she is glad that the numbers are dropping. "I want those children to know that they are valued, and I would tell them that I wish, in some way, it could have been different."

In San Diego County, the only designated drop-off sites for unwanted babies are hospital emergency rooms. Cathi Pelatella, regional information officer for County Social Services, says that fire stations are not yet available as Safe Haven Drop Offs. "The state says that counties can designate specific areas. In San Diego County, fire stations are not part of our Safe Haven policy. I know that the Fire Department has tried, through the Board of Supervisors, to get that in place and I don't know why it never went into place."

According to Pelatella, there has only been one baby dropped off in San Diego County, since the surrendered baby legislation became law. "Well, there has been one that was done according to the letter of the law. I don't know where it happened, but I do know that it happened. In the last four years, we've had approximately four drop-offs that were not in compliance with the law, done in hospital parking lots and fire stations. In May of this year, we had a fatality--an abandoned baby--that was found. I think it was in a trash can."

Pelatella is aware that many potential mothers don't know about the law, but it isn't for a lack of trying to inform them. "We had two very big press events last year talking about safety issues for babies, including the Safely Surrendered Baby Law."

Karen Anderson is the clinical supervisor for social workers at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women in Kearny Mesa. Anderson says that no one has ever dropped off a baby at Mary Birch Hospital. (Contacts at Scripps and UCSD hospitals said the same, though none would go on the record). Even so, a policy is in place that mirrors the policies of the other two hospitals. "The baby has to be less than three days old," Anderson said. "The security people at the front desk will take the baby and call a social worker to come out. We would assure the mother that she could do this without any risk of prosecution and ask her if she would be willing to stay for a few minutes. We would try to get her to fill out a health questionnaire, so we could get some medical background on the baby and mother -- but it's not required. We would tell her that we want to give her an identification bracelet that matches the baby's. That's because she has 14 days to come forward and claim the baby without risk of prosecution or anything of that nature."

"We then have to do a medical exam to make sure the baby is healthy. At that point, our next step is to contact Child Protective Services, who will coordinate foster placement. But if the mother returns within 14 days, she is free to have her baby back. If the baby is not healthy, it is eligible for Medi-Cal coverage. If consent is needed for surgery, we go through child protective services."

Although she has not had any babies dropped off at Mary Birch Hospital, Anderson says that they frequently have mothers who come in to give birth and decide that they don't want to keep their baby. "Then we do what we can to help them place the child for adoption."

Anderson thinks that babies are still being abandoned because of ignorance and fear. "A lot of them don't know about the law, but a lot of them are very afraid. So many women try to hide their pregnancy and find a place to put the baby as quickly as they can and not have to deal with it."

The designated drop-off at all other hospitals is the emergency room, but the policy at Mary Birch is slightly different. "We don't have our own separate emergency room, but we have a sign posted that we are a Safe Haven drop off."

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