Statewide, babies still being abandoned
Gilroy – Four babies were surrendered at fire stations and hospitals in Santa Clara County this year, a dramatic increase since 2001, when the statewide “Safe Haven” law took effect. To prevent baby abandonment, the law allows parents and authorized persons to deliver unwanted babies to hospitals and designated Safe Surrender sites, no questions asked.
From 2001 to 2005, only one baby was surrendered, said Michael Weston, a California Department of Social Service spokesman. Weston said he couldn’t speculate on why more babies were surrendered this year.
Safe Surrender sites are marked with blue-and-white pentagonal signs, where infants ages three days and younger can be turned in. The surrendering person is asked to fill out a voluntary medical questionnaire, then fitted with an ID bracelet, in case second thoughts strike. The person has two weeks to reclaim the baby.
By Sept. 30, 2004, only one parent had asked to reclaim her child. Shortly afterwards, she moved away, leaving no forwarding address.
Elsewhere in California, babies are still turning up in garbage bins and yards. This month, a baby was saved from a garden in San Mateo, along with his 13-year-old mother; on Saturday in Fontana, a newborn was found dead in a plastic bin. From January 2001 to September 2004, 105 abandoned babies were found alive by Child Welfare Service Agencies; 23 were found dead. In the same period, 162 babies were legally surrendered through the program, said Weston.
With almost as many babies abandoned as surrendered, the program may still need promotion. Assembly member Alberto Torrico introduced one bill, AB 1873, which would have appropriated $5 million for a statewide awareness campaign and a toll-free 1-800 safe surrender number, extended the age of surrender babies to one year, and designated all state fire stations as safe surrender sites. The bill was stripped of its funding provisions, and amended down to include babies 30 days and younger, before being enrolled for the governor’s consideration. Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill.
An advertising blitz announced the law in 2003, bolstered by two hefty grants: $1 million from First 5 California, and $250,000 from California Children’s Trust Fund. The money landed ads on TV screens and radio waves, reaching more than 4.5 million California households, and paid for the printing of newspaper ads, bilingual brochures and posters.
In September, First 5 awarded an additional $50,000 to Santa Clara County to paper buses and ethnic media with ads. CalTrain cars will run the ads free of charge, thanks to SamTrans and the Lucile Packard Foundation.
Outreach has also expanded to high school sex education classes, where teachers are now required to advise students about the law. This fall, the county wrapped up filming of a teen training video for use in junior and senior high schools.
Churches also are an outreach target: the county is partnering with the Peninsula Clergy Network to distribute information on the Safe Haven law.
