Newborn Surrendered to TN Baby Box Placed with ‘Forever Family’

A baby who was surrendered to a Safe Haven Baby Box in Knoxville, Tennessee, on May 27 “has been placed with his forever family,” Safe Haven Baby Box founder Monic Kelsey told WBIR-TV.

The baby boy was surrendered to the Baby Box at Knoxville Fire Station 17 just after midnight, approximately 30 minutes after his birth. Two weeks later, he has been placed with a family and the adoption process is underway.

“That baby is healthy and it’s going to live a beautiful life with an adoptive family,” Kelsey said.

Kelsey explained that “it’s not that [the baby’s biological parents] don’t love their child.”

“They’re just in a crisis that you and I may never understand,” she said. “For this parent to utilize this box, 99 days after this box went into service, I think speaks volumes about the box being in the right place at the right time and Knoxville definitely needing this last resort option.”

The baby is one of ten surrendered to Safe Haven Baby Boxes across the United States this year, surpassing eight Baby Box surrenders in 2022, according to the report.

“We’re only halfway through the year,” Kelsey said. “But, we also have you more baby boxes out there and multiple states so they’re more available in different places in the country.”

Tennessee’s Safe Haven Law states that a mother may surrender her unharmed newborn to designated facilities within two weeks of birth without fear of prosecution.

“The whole purpose of this box is to be a resource for our community, that a mother or a parent that is in crisis and doesn’t know what to do with a child, has a place to go,” Knoxville Fire Department Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks said soon after the baby’s surrender.

“It may sound a little bit hard to say, but we don’t want them putting the child in the dumpster, we would much rather them place the child in this box where it’s safe and has an opportunity,” Wilbanks added “So this is simply that, this is a resource for the community and it makes us feel great to know that it did some good within three months of installing it.”

Safe Haven Baby Box recently installed another box in Jackson, Tennessee, and is looking to install boxes in other areas. Kelsey noted that her organization does not receive state or federal funding and relies on sponsors.