- An infant in Kentucky is the first to be safely left in a designated "baby box" device.
- The devices are meant to prevent the "illegal abandonment of newborns."
A baby in Kentucky was the first in the state to be safely left in a Safe Haven "baby box" device earlier this week after the state passed a law permitting parents to "anonymously place newborn infants" in state custody.
The device, just one of 16 in the state, had only been installed at a fire station in Bowling Green, Kentucky, two months prior, Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder and CEO Monica Kelsey said in a press conference on Friday.
"This baby is healthy, this baby is beautiful, this baby is perfect, and the Department of Child Services is now looking for a forever home," Kelsey said, according to local news station WNKY.
She added that fire department employees were able to retrieve the baby in less than 90 seconds. Baby boxes are installed in a "conspicuous" place on the exterior walls of participating hospitals, fire departments, and police stations — and only at institutions that are staffed for 24 hours a day.
When an infant is placed inside, it immediately triggers an alarm to inform the staff.
The devices are provided by the non-profit organization Safe Haven which works to prevent the "illegal abandonment of newborns." They are meant to help parents — who are in crisis or unable to take care of a baby — anonymously and safely drop off their infants, according to their website.
"This child was legally, safely, anonymously, and lovingly placed inside of this Safe Haven Baby Box, and that speaks volumes about the parent," Kelsey said.
The use of "newborn safety devices" for infants less than 30 days old was signed into law in Kentucky in 2021.
The baby is the 24th child in the U.S. to be surrendered at one of the 130 boxes across nine states, the Associated Press reported.