BENTON, Ark. (KARK) – There’s now another safe haven for unwanted newborns in Arkansas.
The first “baby box” in the state has been installed at the Benton Fire Department.
It allows a parent to drop off unwanted newborns—anonymously—into the climate-controlled box.
This comes after recent amendments that added fire departments to Arkansas’ Safe Haven Law.
That law allows parents to place newborns 30 days or younger in the hands of authorities without penalty as long as there are no signs of abuse or trauma.
Fayetteville Fire Department Assistant Chief Thomas Goode explained, “So if a person was set to drop off a baby—an unwanted baby less than 30 days old—they can open it from the outside, place the infant in the baby box, lock it, and then it sends an alarm to dispatch where the units can be notified that there is an infant in there.”
Assistant Chief Good said first responders are the only ones able to unlock the box and remove the baby.
Arkansas is the third state in the country to have a baby box. Indiana and Ohio also have them.
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