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Posted by: thepinetree on 08/03/2012 03:05 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 08/03/2012 03:09 PM
Expires: 01/01/2017 12:00 AM
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Valley Springs Safe Surrender Site Helps Prevent Baby Abandonment
(Valley Springs, CA) In the last few years, a Turlock teen whose baby was found dead in a dumpster was sentenced to eight years in prison for felony child abuse. A 15-year old Lathrop girl secretly delivered her baby who was later found in the garbage. Parents who commit these acts are under severe emotional distress. Abandoning a baby puts the child in extreme danger. It is also illegal. Too often, it results in the baby’s death. Tragedies like this are avoidable thanks to California’s Safely Surrendered Baby Law...
These events prompted the Prevent Child Abuse Council Calaveras to work with local fire departments and Mark Twain St. Joseph Hospital to establish Safe Surrender Sites. Jenny Lind Fire Protection District, staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is the fourth Safe Surrender site in Calaveras County.
California's Safely Surrendered Baby Law allows a parent or person with lawful custody to surrender an infant, within three days of birth, to any hospital or designated fire station. The law guarantees anonymity and freedom from prosecution if there are no signs of abuse or neglect. The purpose is to protect babies from being hurt or killed because they were abandoned.
A surrendered baby is given medical treatment and placed in a foster home or pre-adoptive home. At the time of surrender, a bracelet is placed on the baby for identification purposes and a matching bracelet provided to the parent in case the baby is reclaimed. There is a mechanism for parents to reclaim the infant within 14 days if deemed appropriate by Child Welfare Services.
In California, 407 newborns have been safely surrendered since 2001 when the law was enacted. There have been no babies abandoned in Calaveras County, but staff at designated sites are prepared if an infant is received.
The details of the California law are supposed to be taught in sex-education classes and publicly advertised. But with no state funding available, it's up to local governments and agencies to promote the law. Calaveras County Fire Districts, Prevent Child Abuse Council Calaveras, Calaveras County Public Health, and Calaveras Works and Human Services Agency are working together to inform the public that a safe alternative exists.
24 Hour Safe Surrender Sites in Calaveras County
Jenny Lind Fire Protection District
6501 Jenny Lind Road
Valley Springs, CA 95252
(209)786-2227
Ebbetts Pass Fire Protection District Station One
1037 Blagen Road
Arnold, CA 95223
(209) 795-1646
Central Calaveras Fire & Rescue Protection District
19927 Jesus Maria Road
Mokelumne Hill, CA
(209) 754-4330
Mark Twain Saint Joseph’s Hospital-Emergency Room
768 Mountain Ranch Road
San Andreas, CA 95249
(209) 754-3521
For more information, call the Prevent Child Abuse Council Calaveras at 209-754-6917.
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