Safe haven baby boxes are for saving healthy babies; Dead baby found in Blackfoot could lead to criminal charges

TWIN FALLS, Idaho – “This parent did not follow the safe haven law and you can leave the dead baby in the box and that is not part of the program,” she said Safe Haven Baby Boxes Founder Monica Kelsey. The goal is to offer parents a safe place to turn to deliver a newborn.

• Over the past 3 years, Safe Haven Baby Boxes have grown from a handful to 280 nationwide.
• Since 2017, 53 dolls have been delivered using doll boxes. 153 babies were surrendered under Safe Surrender laws.
• On October 13, a dead baby was found in a baby box in Blackfoot. This could lead to criminal charges if the baby dies before being placed in the box.

(You can find the transcript of the broadcast story below)

“The law is very clear,” Monica Kelsey said. “To be legally surrendered under state security laws, the child must be under the age of surrender and must be unharmed.”

Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, told me over the phone that their goal is to offer parents a safe place to turn to deliver a newborn — no questions asked.

“Boxes allow for anonymity so no one can see them,” Kelsey said. “No one knows who they are and no one knows their name. They don’t have to talk to anyone when entering a facility. They can place their unharmed newborn in an electronically monitored baby box and walk away knowing the staff is there inside that fire station or hospital to pick them up from there.”

The drop-off site in Blackfoot was established in July and is the only safe haven in the state. The abandonment of a dead girl on October 13 was the only incident in which this method was used.

I asked Kelsey if she had any thoughts on the latest incident at Blackfoot.

“The box worked exactly as designed, unfortunately this parent did not comply with the safe harbor law…and is not part of this program,” Kelsey said.

“We are working fully with law enforcement so they can conduct an investigation and find out what happened to this baby so they can get the justice he deserves,” Kelsey said.

Kelsey says 53 babies have been safely delivered to safe havens across the country in the last seven years, while 153 babies have been delivered in person.

The number of safe haven baby boxes has increased from just a handful in 2019 to 280 nationwide today

“We didn’t even install our third baby box until 2019, so we’ve grown tremendously in the last two years. We’ve seen record numbers of surrenders in our boxes in the last two years, and I predict that will continue to happen,” Kelsey said.

The Twin Falls Police Department is leading the investigation and referring questions about the case to the Twin Falls County Prosecutor.

Our calls to the prosecutor have remained unanswered so far.