CARMEL, Ind. — An infant surrendered in a Safe Haven Baby Box at a Carmel fire station in August has been adopted by her forever family.
A new Indiana law, which went into effect July 1, streamlines the placement process for surrendered newborns, bypassing the Department of Child Services, custody and foster families.
"The law prevents a child from languishing in the foster care system, instead placing them with an adoptive family within hours," said Meg Sterchi, executive director of Adoptions of Indiana. "Adoptions are finalized in three months, instead of 18 months to three years."
The baby was surrendered to Carmel Fire Station #345 on Aug. 7 — and was among four babies in 16 months surrendered to the same Safe Haven Baby Box.
Hamilton County Superior Court 5 Judge David Najjar granted the baby's adoption Friday, Nov. 17, coinciding with National Adoption Day.
"I could not be more thrilled," Najjar said at the hearing. "A lot of adoption cases will come through this courthouse today, but none like this one. I am honored to be part of this, and I am honored to say I am granting this adoption."
There are 110 Safe Haven Baby Boxes in Indiana that allow mothers in crisis to surrender their newborn safely, securely and anonymously if they are unable to care for the baby. The boxes are installed in exterior walls of fire stations and hospitals.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are temperature-controlled and sound an alarm when an infant is placed inside, alerting firefighters. Once taken out of the box, the baby is checked by medics and taken to a hospital.
Mothers can call the national hotline at 866-99BABY1 for help safely surrendering a newborn. Safe Haven Baby Boxes says more than 9,000 calls have been fielded by operators, leading to the surrender of more than 140 babies.
