Safe Haven signs alert distressed mothers of newborns under new Georgia laws

When visitors walk into any building across all of Navicent Health’s campuses, they will pass signs that designate the facility as a Safe Haven site.

These signs were placed recently under a revision to the Safe Haven law that requires health care facilities to post them, according to Dr. Patrice Walker of Navicent Health.

“They made this revision because they wanted to make sure that people actually know where they can go (for help),” Walker said. “It’s brought awareness to the situation, in general.”

Under Georgia’s Safe Haven law, if a mother feels that her child is unsafe or unable to be cared for, she has up to 30 days to drop off a newborn at a medical facility, fire station or police department. Under the law, a mother can avoid prosecution for abandonment of her child. The baby must be given to an employee or volunteer at the facility.

“Those people are instructed to take the baby to the emergency room,” Walker said. “The first thing you want to do is make sure the baby is healthy.”

Though mothers are not required to provide any information, they can still be asked about family history and medical conditions the baby might have. The babies are then placed under state custody.

The law hasn’t always been this way. When Georgia’s Safe Haven law was enacted in 2002, it allowed mothers seven days to drop off babies. Mothers also were also required to leave identification information.

Changes to the law in 2017 extended the drop-off period to 30 days and mothers are no longer required to provide any information.

Sarah Koeppen has played a critical role in the recent amendments to the Safe Haven law. As the founder and executive director for The Hope Box, a nonprofit in the Atlanta area, her group worked with the Georgia legislators on the amendments that were passed in 2017.

The group’s work on amending the Safe Haven law in Georgia came after hearing from women in crisis, Koeppen said. She said a lot of mothers who leave their babies faced domestic violence, incest or other similar issues.

“We started getting a lot of inquiries from mothers who didn’t want to go to the hospital or give their information,” Koeppen said. “They really were afraid of getting hurt or of the child getting hurt.”

Koeppen said if a mother decides later that she is able to care for the child and wants to reclaim a newborn, an investigation will take place prior to restoring custody.

Some places n the state are permitted to accept babies who are older than 30 days old, but are not required by law to do so.

“It’s really about the safety of the baby,” Walker said. “We want to make sure the baby is physically safe.”

Safe Haven laws help prevent unsafe abandonment of babies because they ensure that the infants will be given to the proper authorities who will take care of them, she said.

Safe Haven laws are mandatory in all states, though the laws in individual states vary. For instance, in Alabama a mother has 72 hours to drop off a newborn, and can only do so at a medical facility.

While The Hope Box has seen their suggested amendments passed into law, Koeppen said she wants to see more awareness moving forward.

“A lot of people judge the mother,” she said. “I really feel like there needs to be more education about what a girl in crisis could be facing.”

This story was originally published February 15, 2019 at 4:35 PM.