Georgia parents in crisis will soon have a new way to surrender a newborn

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — For the first time in Georgia, parents in crisis will soon have a way to safely and anonymously surrender a newborn.

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Georgia’s first Safe Haven Baby Box is set to open next week at a Henry County fire station in Ellenwood.

The box is designed for parents who may feel they cannot safely care for their newborn and want to surrender the baby without having to face someone in person.

If a parent decides to use it, they’ll open the door, place the baby inside the climate-controlled box and close the door.

Once that happens, the parent cannot access the box from the other side.

Inside is a clear bassinet where the newborn can safely stay until first responders arrive.

“Once they open up the box, they’ll just place their child inside. So inside… you’ll see there’s a nice little bassinet that’s inside, a clear bassinet,” Henry County Fire Chief Pat Wilson said.

The box is equipped with multiple alarms designed to immediately alert first responders when a baby is placed inside.

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Wilson has responded to calls involving abandoned children — some of which ended tragically.

“There is no worse tragedy than to see a child, a baby that’s been abandoned,” Wilson said.

He hopes the box can give newborns a safer outcome.

The need for options like this has been highlighted by cases across Georgia.

In 2019, Channel 2 Action News reported on a newborn nicknamed Baby India who was found alive inside a tied plastic bag in the woods in Forsyth County.

The Safe Haven Baby Box is intended to provide an alternative before a newborn is abandoned.

For Brittany Almon, bringing the option to Georgia has been a yearslong effort.

When Almon first became a mother, her son was a newborn. His biological mother had safely surrendered him in a hospital parking lot.

Today, Almon says he is a thriving 4-year-old.

“I do not judge her. Like I said, I am so, I’m thankful for her every single day,” Almon said.

At the time, Georgia’s Safe Haven law required a parent surrendering a newborn to do so face-to-face.

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Almon helped push for another option — one that would allow a parent to safely surrender a baby without having to interact with another person.

“We wanted there to be an option that people did not have to face somebody, and they could just walk up to this box, put their baby in there and close the door,” Almon said.

It’s a resource supporters hope no family ever needs.

But for a parent who does need it, they say it could mean the difference between tragedy and a baby getting a chance at a safe future.

The blessing ceremony for Georgia’s first Safe Haven Baby Box is set for next Friday.

Supporters hope other counties across Georgia will follow Henry County’s lead.