Georgia Legislature Sends 'Baby Box' Safe Haven Bill to Kemp
The measure adds an anonymous surrender option with regulated safety features, with installations funded locally.
Overview
- House Bill 350 passed the Georgia House 164-4 and the Senate 49-1, and the legislature sent it to Gov. Brian Kemp for a decision.
- The bill authorizes medical-grade newborn surrender boxes at hospitals, fire stations, and police stations as an addition to face-to-face Safe Haven surrenders allowed up to 30 days after birth.
- Units must include security cameras, a temperature-controlled bassinet, a 30-second delay after the exterior door closes, an alarm to alert on-site staff, and an automated 911 call when a baby is placed inside.
- Once recovered from a box, the infant is taken to a hospital for a wellness check and then into custody of the Department of Family and Children Services.
- Local governments are not required to pay for boxes, so communities would raise funds for installations, which one hospital estimated at about $20,000 per unit.