| ‘Safe Baby Surrender’ Program |
|
 |
 “When the baby was born in a porta-potty in a field in South County in 2004, I knew I had to do something. I don’t want newborn babies to lose their lives because their mothers are not able to keep their babies and don’t know what to do with them,” says Jean Himes, past president of the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital’s Service League. “I don’t know why this struck me so, but it did and I was passionate about it.”
Himes knew that babies do not have to be abandoned, but can be safely surrendered under California’s Safely Surrendered Baby Law. “The law, which went into effect in 2001, allows mothers to give up their babies to hospital staff in emergency departments within 72 hours of birth,” says David Ross Maradei, Director of the Monterey County Child Abuse Prevention Council. “As of August 1, 2005, 80 babies have been surrendered and have survived. Two were in Monterey County, and 24 deceased and abandoned babies have been found in California.”
Himes expressed her concern to the SVMHS’s Board of Directors during her report as then President of the Service League. This led to a small group of people who met to discuss the issue. Lisa Paulo, RN, MSN, MPA, Clinical Operations Director in the Nursing Administration Department, soon joined the group in conjunction with her involvement in the 2005 Leadership Salinas Valley class. The annual Leadership class, which is sponsored by the Salinas Chamber of Commerce, requires each class member to choose a project with a community focus which must be completed during the five-month program. Himes and Paulo, with help from others in the hospital, created the “Safe Baby Surrender” campaign to put information about the California Safely Surrendered Baby Law into the community.
Initially the campaign produced 1,000 decals/stickers with a three-frame narrative. The pictorial message is simple: in frame one, the woman is pregnant; in frame two, the woman hands a tiny infant to a healthcare worker; and in frame three, the healthcare worker protectively cradles the baby in her arms. The decals were distributed throughout the county. The next steps are to print more and create brochures to distribute to schools, buses and other public places most likely to reach pregnant women who may not know about the state’s safe haven law.
 The “Safe Baby Surrender” project is a worthy project, says Maradei. “Our position is that anything we do—individually or collectively—adds to community education about child abuse prevention. One of our mantras is that education equals prevention. The state law’s public information campaign is the ‘No Shame, No Blame, No Names’ program, which receives support through donations from First 5 California and the Children’s Trust Fund.”
Paulo says the 2005 class of Leadership Salinas Valley really jumped on board to help with the “Safe Baby Surrender” campaign. “The 2005 class is over, yet some of the class members wanted to stay involved. We also want to present the ‘Safe Baby Surrender‘ project to the 2006 Leadership Salinas Valley class to encourage the new class to take this project forward. The hope is that every year more people will get involved.”
Paulo and Himes both say the “Safe Baby Surrender” campaign is strictly a volunteer project. “We need as many people as possible to come to the table. We’ll identify definite audiences to receive our materials as well as potential funding sources. The Service League generously paid for the decal project and the Marketing and Media Department of the Hospital was great in creating the visuals. Now, to continue, we must appeal to community resources,” Paulo says.
The urgency to take action was clear to Himes. “We hear about babies who are left in trash receptacles or in bathrooms. Abandoned babies are not considered to be surrendered safely. Some mothers are obviously distraught, but still we have to protect the babies and this includes essential prenatal care. The goal is to get the word out to as many people as possible so that mothers can give up their babies in a safe environment and with no fear of reprisal,” she says. “These tiny babies depend on us.” |
| |
“California State law allows you to hand over your baby to the emergency room of any hospital within 3 days of giving birth.
This practice is safe, free, private and legal. There is no threat of deportation, no paperwork required and no questions will be asked. Rest assured that your baby will be looked after and placed in excellent care in a loving family environment.
The Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital Emergency Department will accept your baby under this program. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, located at 450 E. Romie Lane. All you need to do is go there with your baby.”
* Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System |
| |
The California Safely Surrendered Baby Law*
- Allows distressed birth parent(s) to legally, confidentially and safely surrender their baby.
- Provides a safe place for babies.
- Protects the parents from arrest or prosecution for abandonment.
- Does not require names be given when the baby is surrendered.
- Permits parents to bring a baby within 3 days of birth to any hospital emergency room in California.
- Allows for a 14-day period during which the birth parent(s) may change their minds and reclaim the baby.
- Provides babies who are safely surrendered at a hospital with medical treatment before they are placed in a foster home or pre-adoptive home.
* Facts from the State of California Health and Human Services Agency and Department of Social Services. |
| |
|
|
|
