Kentucky Firefighters Find First Infant in Recently Installed ‘Baby Box’

Firefighters in Bowling Green, Kentucky, last week found the first baby placed into their Safe Haven Baby Box, which was just installed in December.

WBKO reported that an infant was left in the Safe Haven Baby Box at the Bowling Green Fire Department (BGFD)  station on Lovers Lane.

The firefighters retrieved the child just a minute and a half after the box was used, WNKY noted.

Monika Kelsey, the founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, held a press conference. Addressing the parents of the baby, she thanked the parents for looking out for the best interests of their child, per WNKY:

“Thank you for doing what you felt you could for the life of this child,” said Kelsey. “This baby is healthy. This baby is beautiful. This baby is perfect. And the Department of Child Services is now looking for a forever home for this family… If this parent is out there and they want the resources of counseling or medical care, it is available for you at no cost.”

Kentucky’s “Safe Infants Act allows parents to leave babies younger than 30 days old at a designated safe place. No one will call the police or ask for your name,” Kentucky’s Health and Family Services website says.

The Bowling Green baby box was made operational just days before Christmas on in December 19, marking the 15th in state, according to the BGFD. 

Rep. Nancy Tate (R-Brandenburg) sponsored the Safe Infants Act in the state House of Representatives. 

“This bill provides parents who may be at the end of their rope a safe option to save the life of their child,” the News-Enterprise quoted her as saying. “We see it working in other states and I believe Kentucky has a real opportunity.”

After the baby was surrendered in Bowling Green, Tate told WKNY that she would like to see the program expanded across the state.

“It’s great to have 16 boxes here in Kentucky. There are 120 counties. My goal is to have at least one box in every county and I don’t see any reason why we can’t do that,” said Tate.

In a Facebook post, Safe Haven Baby Boxes reiterated their gratitude for the parents for doing what they thought was right for their child.

“Nothing but our upmost respect and thanks to the birth mom (dad) that kept their newborn safe and made the difficult choice to surrender their child safely to give them a chance at life,” the organization wrote.

You can follow Michael Foster on Twitter at @realmfoster.