Our Safe Haven Baby Box is a device installed into the exterior wall of our police department which allows mothers to safely and anonymously surrender her newborn who is 30 days or younger. The SHBB is a climate controlled box that activates when the outside door is opened. When the outside door is shut, the box locks and sends a silent alarm to first responders to notify them that a newborn has been surrendered.
Mayflower Safe Haven Baby Box is located at the
Mayflower City Center.
Founder, Monica Kelsey, started Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Inc. after learning she was abandoned as an infant and after seeing a “Baby Box” in operation at a church, in Cape Town, South Africa. She has made it her personal mission to educate others on the Safe Haven Law and to do whatever it takes to save the lives of innocent babies from being abandoned.
The Safe Haven Baby Box takes the face-to-face interaction out of the surrender and protects the mother from being seen. The Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization’s primary goal is to raise awareness of the Safe Haven Law. Women in crisis can call the national 24-hour hotline and can receive counseling and assistance free of charge.
Arkansas State Law A.C.A 9-34-202(a) Any medical provider, law enforcement agency, or fire department shall take possession of a child who is thirty (30) days old or younger without a court order if the parent of the child, without expressing an intent to return for the child, leaves the child:
- With or voluntarily delivers the child to the medical provider, law enforcement agency, or fire department; or
- In a newborn safety device that is:
(A) Voluntarily installed by the medical provider, law enforcement agency, or fire department;
(B) Physically located inside a hospital, law enforcement agency, or fire department that is staffed twenty-four (24) hours a day by a medical services provider; and
(C) Located in an area that is conspicuous and visible to the employees of the hospital, law enforcement agency, or fire department.
