Fourth Baby Surrendered to Indiana Safe Haven Baby Box

A baby was surrendered to the Carmel Fire Station Safe Haven Baby Box in Indiana this week, Fox59 reported. 

“The Carmel Fire Department and our Firefighters are honored to be entrusted with this fourth baby in our Safe Haven Baby Box. We applaud this mother for having the courage and love to surrender her baby into a safe and secure environment,” said CFD Chief David Haboush.

The baby girl, who is the fourth baby surrendered at the fire station in the past 16 months, already has a new home, 13WTHR reported. 

“In all four cases, Carmel firefighters removed the baby from the box in less than a minute to begin caring for the child and starting the search for a new home,” according to the report. “…In the case of the girl left in Carmel this week, the prospective adoptive parents picked up the baby girl within 12 hours.”

A new Indiana law “streamlines the placement process” for surrendered newborns by “bypassing the Department of Child Services, custody, and foster families,” the report states. The fire department has a list of adoption agencies and the chosen “agency vets and picks the parents.”

“It is such a joy to have a station that is so enthusiastic about our mission and program. They have warmly and lovingly received three babies previously at this location,” Safe Haven Baby Box Founder Monica Kelsey said. “We know this baby was loved immeasurably by the birth mother who placed her baby knowing that the infant would be cared for quickly. While we know this isn’t ideal circumstances, we know that this infant will soon be adopted by a family who has anxiously awaited this opportunity.”

“Thank you for trusting the Carmel Fire Department to take it from here,” she added, speaking in reference to the baby’s birth mother. “Your baby is safe, your baby is healthy and the parents for your child have already been chosen.”

Safe Haven Baby Boxes has 157 boxes in 11 states. Thirty-five newborns have been surrendered since 2017, 14 of whom were surrendered this year.