Colorado Safe Haven for Newborns

Description

· The Colorado Safe Haven law was passed in 2000, ensuring that a mother or father in Colorado can anonymously hand over a newborn child within three days of birth to personnel at a fire station or hospital. · In the first 5 years after the law was passed, 12 babies were turned in. During the last 2 years, 15 babies were turned in officially, and 2 unofficially. One unofficial was turned in to a police station in Colorado Springs. The other unofficial was taken to a fire station, but it was a month old. We still arranged for the baby to be taken that night, and legally adopted. · Many women in crisis, who need the information the most, are unaware of their option under the Safe Haven law. · The Colorado Safe Haven for Newborns non-profit organization was created to get the word out about the law, empowering new mothers with information about a safe alternative to abandonment. · We engage in an outreach campaign that centers around a toll-free, multilingual hotline where mothers and fathers can call in crisis to learn more about their option under Safe Haven Law. Other avenues we are pursuing include: o Public Service Announcements for TV, radio and print.

o Developing and distributing materials in English and Spanish.
o Public Access to our website as an information resource.
o Maintaining information and statistics regarding the effectiveness of the law.

0 In compliance with the Legislature's direction that the provisions of the Colorado Safe haven law be taught in every high school and college in the state, we are currently testing a lesson plan we developed for teachers