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First Indy Baby Box to be installed at fire station

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The city’s first Safe Haven Baby Box was unveiled Thursday in Indianapolis after a long-fought legislative battle legalizing the drop boxes for infants. 

The box is at Decatur Township Fire Station No. 74, 3750 Foltz St., about a half-mile south of Kentucky Avenue. It will be installed in an exterior wall of the fire station so people can approach the box anonymously and leave babies in a temperature-controlled, ventilated and sanitary space. 

“So, when a mom walks up to one of your boxes she opens the door and an immediate 911 call goes out,” said Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes.

She said a second 911 call goes out when a motion sensor inside the baby’s bassinet goes off.

Finally, the person dropping off the baby pushes a white button that lights up, letting him or her know the box is working. That also triggers a silent alarm and when the door is shut from the outside it cannot be reopened. 

“She cannot get her child out even if she changes her mind. The child is picked up 3-5 minutes. The baby in Michigan City was picked up in 90 seconds,” Kelsey said. 

Kelsey said the Safe Haven Baby Boxes are meant as a last resort for women in distress and she would personally encourage women to call their 24/7 hotline — 866-992-2291 — and consider other options, including delivering the baby in person to authorities and providing valuable medical and family history.

Kelsey said they have received 19 safe surrenders from women who have used their hotline. However, she said, given the consistent deceased abandoned baby incidents in Marion County, a Save Haven Baby Box is what Indianapolis needs. 

“Placing your child in a box in one of these boxes saves the mother from a lifetime of guilt and obviously the child’s life from being placed in a dumpster,” she said. 

The box and associated services cost $10,000 and are funded completely by private donations.

Linda Znachko from He Knows Your Name Miniseries contributed significantly to the Safe Haven Baby Box after posthumously adopting an abandoned baby in 2014. Baby Amelia was found dead in a sweatshirt in Eagle Creek Park. Her footprint graces all Safe Haven logos, including the one on the Decatur Township Fire station’s Baby Box. 

“It’s not just for her; it’s elevating awareness and educating people that this is a real thing. And we do hear it on the news occasionally but when you really dig in, you see this is happening more than we realize all over the country and we need to have more solutions,” Znachko said. 

The box won’t be operational until July 1, which is when the 2018 Safe Haven Law passed by the Indiana Legislature takes effect.

Two other Safe Haven Baby Boxes are active in northern Indiana: one in Michigan City and another in Woodburn. Those were grandfathered into legality in 2017 by the Legislature. The Indiana Safe Haven Law passed in 2000 only allowed infant abandonment if the parent delivers the baby face-to-face to hospital or law enforcement authorities. 

Kelsey said since the activation of the two Baby Boxes in Indiana, no reports of deceased abandoned babies have been made in the area and two babies were deposited safely to the boxes. Kelsey said one mother who dropped off her baby told her story to Safe Haven. 

“The second baby that was placed in our box, mom drove 51 miles. That’s huge,” she said. “She passed a hospital that was staffed, a fire station that was staffed, to bring the child to a place that she will remain anonymous.” 

Decatur Township Fire Chief Pascal Arnes said he agrees the Baby Boxes may reach a different population. 

“There is a need and a passion across the state,” he said. “It’s to take that proactive approach and to give another resource to a mother to parents that may not be comfortable walking in a physically handing a child to someone.” 

After the baby is placed in the box and the door is shut, the fire department is responsible for retrieving the child within 5 minutes and bringing him or her to the nearest medical facility for a full check-up. The Indiana Department of Child Services then takes over, placing the baby in foster care for the 30-day legal hold for parental rights where a parent could come forward and retrieve the child given they pass a DNA test and are fit to care for the child.

After the hold expires, the baby is up for immediate adoption, according to Walter Peycha with Safe Haven.