After a recent incident of infant abandonment captured public attention in Austin, advocates say more awareness of Texas' Safe Haven law is needed.
At a news conference last week, Detective Russell Constable of the Austin Police Department's child abuse unit said a newborn discovered abandoned in a North Lamar Boulevard dumpster on Sept. 20 was safe under the care of medical staff and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
He also stressed that there are options to legally and safely surrender infants.
"While this case is heartbreaking, it highlights the importance of community awareness and swift responses to children in need of aid," Constable said.
Since 2020, 82 children have been surrendered in compliance with Texas' Safe Haven law, including seven in the region that includes Austin. Texas passed the law — the first of its kind in the country — in 1999 following a string of infant abandonments in the Houston area. The other 49 states followed suit.
Under Texas' law, parents may surrender babies aged 60 days or younger to staff at designated sites including hospitals, emergency rooms, EMS stations and fire departments. Those surrendering a baby are not required to identify themselves, though they may be asked if they are willing to provide medical history for the child.
Another option is a Safe Haven Baby Box — a device designed to keep infants safe if the surrendering parent isn't willing to have contact with staff at the site. The boxes automatically alert 911 and sound an alarm when a baby is placed inside.
The Austin area doesn't yet have any of these boxes. The city of Lakeway voted to help fund a box at a local fire station with the Pedernales Fire Department earlier this year, but it has not yet been installed, according to Lakeway city staff.
Monica Kelsey, CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, said incidents like this recent one in Austin point to the need for more awareness of Safe Haven laws locally. Kelsey said her organization runs campaigns on social media and billboards across the country.
"We haven't been working in that part of the state," Kelsey said. "So now we're playing catch up, just trying to educate the people of Austin that, hey, you can walk into a facility and hand the child to a person."
Classroom education could also play a role, said Heather Burner, executive director of the National Safe Haven Alliance — but that doesn't mean that teens and young adults are the only ones who seek help through Safe Haven laws. Burner said her organization's helpline has received calls from women and girls as young as 13 and as old as 42. Many of those callers had only recently discovered they were pregnant.
"I can't even tell you how many calls we've had [like that]," Burner said. "They did not know they were pregnant, and now they're seven months along, or they're nine months along, and they're getting ready to deliver.... So it's very important for them to have some type of exposure to what safe options are available."
Helpline counselors also give callers information about how to form adoption plans or arrange temporary placements for children. They have also assisted women who are being sex trafficked or who fear for the health of an infant after delivering at home, Burner said.
"You're not alone — we really want that to be the most important message that someone receives, that you don't have to do this alone," she said. "There is someone there that can answer that call and walk alongside you."
The National Safe Haven Alliance's helpline is available for calls and texts at 1-888-510-BABY (2229). Texas also has a state-specific number known as the Baby Moses Hotline that offers support: (800) 392-3352.
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