Brooke County considering Safe Haven Baby Box

WELLSBURG -- Brooke County officials want to be prepared in the event a new mother would make the decision to give up her baby.

Del. Jimmy Willis, R-Brooke, attended Tuesday’s meeting of the Brooke County Commission to provide an update on efforts to establish a Safe Haven Baby Box in the county.

"We hope we can do this, but never need to use it," Willis said.

Willis has been working with state Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, and state Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio, on the project, with the three of them set to seek grant funding through the state.

Safe Haven boxes were developed to offer a safe, anonymous and legal way for a new mother to turn a child over to authorities or care providers in instances where the mother feels the baby cannot be properly cared for.

Two such boxes recently were installed in Wheeling, Willis noted.

Commission President Tom Diserio explained the county’s responsibility for such a project would include obtaining a contractor to install the box once it is purchased, as well as selecting a location.

"It’s a very minimal cost for what the savings could be," Diserio said. "We are fully prepared to support the project."

Diserio said county Emergency Management Director Greg Moore and Deputy Director Mike Loborec have selected a location they believe would be suitable for the box, with Tuesday’s commission agenda indicating the possibility of using the Brooke County EMS Headquarters.

The Safe Haven box provides a temperature-controlled environment, protecting the child from the elements.

Once the baby is placed in the box, the mother will have the opportunity to leave the area.

"There’s a one- or two-minute delay, then the alarm will sound to tone the proper first responders to get the baby and make sure they’re OK," Willis said.

Diserio said the plan would be to have an audible alarm at the selected location, as well as an alert sent to the county’s 911 Dispatch Center in the event no one would be on site at the headquarters.

The idea for the Safe Haven Baby Box was developed by Monica Kelsey, who learned of similar programs during a trip to South Africa. According to the Safe Haven Baby Boxes website, Kelsey herself was an abandoned baby, born to a 17-year-old girl who had been attacked and raped in the early 1970s. After going against the advice of her mother to pursue an abortion, she was hidden for the remainder of the pregnancy, abandoning Kelsey at a small hospital in Ohio two hours after giving birth.

Kelsey founded the organization with a primary goal to raise awareness of the Safe Haven Law.

West Virginia’s Safe Haven Law, found under State Code 49-4-21, allows a hospital or health care facility, fire department, emergency medical service facility, police department, 911 call center or sheriff’s department the ability to "take possession of a child if the child is voluntarily delivered to the hospital, health care facility, fire department, emergency medical service facility, police department, 911 call center or sheriff’s detachment by the child’s parent within 30 days of the child’s birth, and the parent did not express an intent to return for the child."

The law allows the parent to remain anonymous and allows the designated locations to install "newborn safety devices."