Cabot to add Safe Haven Baby Box at downtown fire station, will be 17th in Arkansas

CABOT, Ark. – The city of Cabot will dedicate a new baby box Wednesday, one week after a newborn was recovered from another baby box in central Arkansas.

According to Safe Haven Baby Boxes representatives, the Cabot baby box will be the 17th installed in Arkansas. Cabot officials said it is located at the fire department near the city center.

The dedication takes place seven days after a newborn had been surrendered at an identical baby box at the Benton fire station. That was the seventh newborn surrendered in 2023, according to Safe Haven officials.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey said she was pleased to be able to add a Cabot location.

“We are hot off the heels of an Arkansas Baby Box surrender and we never know when our Baby Boxes will be needed, but we do know it is crucial to be prepared for this situation,” she said.

A baby box is designed to be a resource to safely surrender an infant anonymously. Boxes are available 24/7 and are equipped with silent alarms to alert first responders. Within five minutes, first responders will attend to a surrendered newborn and take the child to the hospital for medical evaluation, Safe Haven representatives said, adding that within 30 to 45 days a surrendered child will be placed with a foster family who signed up with the intention of adopting.

Cabot Mayor Ken Kincaid said the city getting a baby box was “a great day for the city of Cabot and our community.”

The Arkansas Safe Haven Law allows a child under 30 days old to be surrendered without legal repercussions. In Arkansas, a newborn may be surrendered at a baby box, hospital emergency room, fire station or law enforcement agency.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes maintains a confidential counseling hotline at 1-866-99BABY1. Additional information is available at the group's website hhbb.org.

from KARK https://ift.tt/ncLWxQr