Virtually every state in the country has a Safe Haven law.

What is a safe haven law? This allows a new parent to safely leave their child with a responsible person rather than abandoning the child or doing something even worse. The parents are free from prosecution, if they follow the regulations of the safe haven laws.

The laws vary by each state, so if you, or someone you know, is considering this, please check the regulations for the state. The child will then be placed in foster care and receive care and services.

So how do the regulations vary by state?

Who the child may be left with – In some states the requirement is that the child be handed to a hospital employee. The definition of hospital employee varies from cases to case. In other statues the child may be left with other emergency personnel such as firefighters, EMTs or police officers. In other statutes the child may be left with any responsible adult who consents to receive the child. This last one bothers me because who decides who a responsible adult is. The one consistency in all the laws is that the child must be physically handed to the person listed. Placing the child in the waiting room of a doctor’s office is not sufficient. The child must be handed to the person, and the intention to “release” the child for care must be stated.

The age of the child – This, again, varies greatly from state to state. In some states the maximum age of the child is just a few days old, in other states it expands to a few weeks old, and in a few cases, the child may be a few months old. North Dakota has the most liberal age limit with accepting a child under one year old.

Prosecution – In some states there is no prosecution, in other states the parent may be “charged” with abandonment but the fact that they safely relinquished the child and followed the safe haven laws is the “affirmative defense” which frees them from charges. Again, be sure to check the laws for each state.

There are four states that do not have safe haven laws: Vermont, Nebraska, Alaska, and Hawaii as well as the District of Columbia.

Some other things you may want to know about the safe haven laws.

The person receiving the child may ask for the parents name, medical history or other pertinent information about the child, but the parent is not required to answer any questions.

The person receiving the child is safe from liability for anything that happens to the child while in their care, unless there is abuse or neglect.

If you are relinquishing your child, please include a list of any family medical history that may be important to the child either now or in the future. Things like strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, etc. These things will be important in the future.

If you are a mother who can not or is afraid to make an adoption plan, give your child the gift of life by using the safe haven laws. If you know of a parent who is struggling with an unplanned pregnancy, discuss options before it’s too late.


Full list of Safe Haven laws

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