Safe Haven for Newborns Laws - All 50 states have passed laws designed to "protect newborn children from injury and death caused by abandonment" and exempts a relinquishing parent from prosecution, according to certain guidelines. Instead of abandoning an unwanted baby, a parent can hand an uninjured baby to someone who is on duty at an officially designated Safe Haven* location, without fear of prosecution for abandonment.

People are encouraged to call 2-1-1 OR 1-866-320-5764 (United Way Help Line) if they are considering abandoning their child. Help Line staff are prepared to answer their questions.

For complete text of the laws in each state, go to Missouri and Kansas (On the Kansas site, type in Statute number 38-2282 and then click "Get Statute.")

* Missouri Safe Havens include:
- hospitals
- ambulance stations
- fire stations
- police stations

* Kansas Safe Havens include:
- hospitals
- fire stations
- city and county health departments

MOTHER & CHILD HEALTH COALITION supports the Safe Haven for Newborns campaign in Missouri and Kansas by providing information and resources to the community.

24" x 24" permanent, metal signs for official Safe Haven locations to post on their premises in the greater Kansas City area are available FREE at either the Mother & Child Health Coalition office, Head Start of Shawnee Mission on Santa Fe, or at KCPT. See Resources tab for additional resources and details. NOTE: These signs are for the greater Kansas City area only, as the phone number shown goes to our local 2-1-1. If you have any questions, please send an email to us at kcsafehavens@yahoo.com.

CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS If you have any corrections to any of this information, or have anything that you would like to have posted here to share with others, please send Anne Biswell a message at abiswell@mchc.net.

VISIT US ON FACEBOOK! Look for us under "KC Metro Safe Haven."

Contact us at: kcsafehavens@yahoo.com

 

ATTENTION SAFE HAVEN SITES!
In order to collect (non-identifying) information about infants surrendered under the Safe Haven for Newborns Law, we have created an online data collection tool. If you accept an infant, please click the link below to enter in details about the infant. Please note that no personal information will be collected about the surrendering parent. This information will be used only for keeping records of how many mothers and infants are helped, and evaluating the effectiveness of the program. Thank you for your help.

Report Safe Haven Baby

ATTENTION MEMBERS OF THE KC SAFE HAVEN TASK FORCE::
If you have completed an education / outreach activity, please CLICK HERE to submit a REPORT for the record. THANK YOU!

 

  • POSTERS Click below for NEW Safe Haven posters in English or Spanish that can be downloaded and used to educate the public about the program.
  • NEW: Arabic/Somali poster, 2-sided
  • KCTV5 News Report Sept. 16, 2010

  • Interview Jan. 6, 2012 by KCMO Police Department CLICK HERE to see a video on YouTube.
  • PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT - Click here to see a PSA made by Kansas City Public Television (KCPT).
  • POWER POINT PRESENTATION - click here.

  • POLICIES - In order for all Safe Havens to be effective,  the following sample guidelines are provided as you develop your organizational policies and procedures:

Hospitals in Missouri
Hospitals in Kansas
Law Enforcement in Missouri
Law Enforcement in Kansas
Fire Rescue/Emergency Medical Services in Kansas
Fire Rescue/Emergency Medical Services in Missouri
Health Departments in Kansas

The US Dept of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families has a resource site where you can find out about each state’s safe haven laws.

OTHER LOCAL WEBSITES featuring Safe Haven information:

Florida Safe Haven Program
Riverside Department of Public Safety
City of Shawnee, Kansas
National Safe Haven Alliance

OTHER MATERIALS of INTEREST:

Letter from City of Oviedo FL Chief of Police
KCMO Police Department's Press Release

 

 

SAFE HAVEN SIGNS: Metal 24" x 24" signs are being provided free of charge, to identify officially designated Safe Haven for Newborns locations. You can pick up a sign from any one of three locations. Please call or email first:

Head Start Shawnee Mission
c/o Nancy Nichols
8155 Santa Fe Drive, Overland Park Kansas
( 913) 649-9714
nnichols@smks-headstart.org.

KCPT
c/o Donna Collene
 125 E. 31st Street, Kansas City, MO
(816) 756-3580
donna_collene@kcpt.org

Mother & Child Health Coalition
c/o Anne Biswell
6400 Prospect Ave. Suite 216 Kansas City, MO 64132
(816) 283-6242 ext. 0
abiswell@mchc.net

Please note: These signs are only for officially designated Safe Haven locations. There is no charge for the signs.

To learn more about the Safe Haven campaign, contact Susie Girten at sgirten@saint-lukes.org