PHOENIX – With news this week about a newborn child abandoned in a shopping cart, the Department of Child Safety would like to remind Arizonans about the state’s Safe Haven Law.
If you are a parent whose situation feels so desperate that you believe you can’t care for your child, Arizona’s Safe Haven Law allows parents to bring a baby, up to three days old, to a hospital, emergency medical provider, fire station, licensed private child welfare agency, or a participating church.
The law was designed to provide birth parents who do not wish to care for their newborn an option other than abandoning them.
Once a newborn is relinquished under the Safe Haven Law, DCS works on finding the child a permanent home.
DCS has already received dozens of calls from concerned citizens offering to care for the newborn found in a shopping cart.
For more information on how to become a foster parent, visit: https://dcs.az.gov/services/foster-care-and-adoption/steps-becoming-foster-parent
To learn more about the Safe Haven Law, visit: https://dcs.az.gov/services/safe-haven-newborn-information
