Safe Haven Law Seeks to Eliminate Newborn Baby Abandonment

PHOENIX (June 6, 2017) – 

With news this week about a newborn child abandoned in a shopping cart, the Department of Child Safety would like to remind Arizonans about the state’s Safe Haven Law.

If you are a parent whose situation feels so desperate that you believe you can’t care for your child, Arizona’s Safe Haven Law allows parents to bring a baby, up to three days old, to a hospital, emergency medical provider, fire station, licensed private child welfare agency, or a participating church.

The law was designed to provide birth parents who do not wish to care for their newborn an option other than abandoning them.

Once a newborn is relinquished under the Safe Haven Law, DCS works on finding the child a permanent home.

DCS has already received dozens of calls from concerned citizens offering to care for the newborn found in a shopping cart.

For more information on how to become a foster parent, visit: https://dcs.az.gov/services/foster-care-and-adoption/steps-becoming-foster-parent

To learn more about the Safe Haven Law, visit: https://dcs.az.gov/services/safe-haven-newborn-information