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La Plata County receives its first Safe Haven Baby
October 16, 2010
DURANGO - A newborn baby boy was dropped off last month at a fire station in Ignacio, the first time Colorado’s “safe haven” law has been used in La Plata County.
The Legislature passed the law in 2000 to allow parents to drop off a child at a fire station or a hospital within 72 hours of birth. The law was created to give parents a legal way to relinquish a baby anonymously rather than abandon the child in an unsafe way. Parents who use the law are not required to provide any information about themselves – they can simply give the baby to a firefighter or a hospital staff member, said Linda Boulder, attorney for La Plata County Human Services.
The Colorado Department of Human Services knows of 29 babies abandoned under the safe haven law from the time it was enacted through 2009, said Liz McDonough, spokeswoman for the agency. “I think the law has gained awareness,” McDonough said. “Every time a child is safely dropped off, I think the law proves its worth.”
Linda Prudhomme
