Just over a month since Alabama’s first Safe Haven Baby Box opened on January 10th in Madison, AL, and a second baby has been saved. While the first infant came just two weeks after opening, this second tyke arrived on February 21st. Much like with the first infant, crews at Fire Station 1 gave the youngster a full checkup and care before being transferred to Madison Hospital by HEMSI.
The little temperature-controlled incubators are built into the outside walls of places like fire or police stations and hospitals. Locking after the outside door shuts, the mother gets time to get away safely before the externally silent alarm sounds inside to alert waiting professionals. Designed to present panicked and overwhelmed mothers an option with their infant, in Alabama, they have up to 45 days to surrender their child over to these boxes.
Stemming the tide of infant mortality, this option ensures these children are placed into a loving, healthy, and safe home through vetted adoptions. Instead of being tied up in the foster care system, they are placed within weeks of their handover and given the best of care and comfort while they await a family who can give them what their birth mother just couldn’t.
Started in Alabama by an organization called Kids to Love, their bill passed the Alabama legislature in 2023. Allowing baby boxes to finally open in the state, and expanding the safe haven law to 45 days from the previous timeframe of 72 hours. The group has plans to expand its offerings with boxes in Prattville, Gadsden, Tuscaloosa, and Opelika in the coming year.
