Sikeston City Council approved the installation of a Safe Haven Baby Box at the new fire station during Monday’s City Council meeting.

A Safe Haven Baby Box is a secure, climate controlled, alarmed box that can be accessed 24/7 from the outside of the building where an infant may be safely surrendered by a parent in crisis. Currently this would only be the second box in the state of Missouri, with the other being in St. Louis.

Under Missouri’s Safe Place for Newborns Act, a parent can relinquish a child 45 days and younger anonymously to certain individuals and facilities, including firefighters and law enforcement officers, without fear of prosecution for child abandonment.

“Right now, if a parent in crisis wanted to leave their newborn with one of our officers, they could do that, without fear of prosecution,” said Sikeston City Manager Jonathan Douglass. “This allows it to be a little bit more anonymous and hopefully encourages a parent in crisis to leave that baby in a safe space. If that happens, we will immediately transfer that baby to Division of Social Services.”

The box will be worked into the design of the new fire station, which is currently underway right now. Douglass said while approved, the city will not execute the contract until the fire station design is further along.

Local advocates will raise funds for the initial purchase and installation of the box, which will be between $11,000 and $15,000. After that the city would pay $500 renewal every five years, and $300 annual fees to Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Inc. That company would provide educational materials to the city for both city staff and the public along with operating a toll-free number for the public to use in emergency situations regarding abandoned children. They would also provide annual inspections of the box.

Councilman Tom Robison asked how many babies had been surrendered to the boxes so far. Advocates at Monday’s meeting said only one so far at the Mehlville Fire Station in St. Louis, but the box has been in place for less than a year.

If a baby is placed in the box, it would alert 911 as well as set off an alarm inside the fire station notifying officers. The box is climate controlled, and the baby would be in there only for a short time, less than five minutes. Officers would be trained to know how to respond if a baby was left in the box.

To find out more about Safe Haven Baby Boxes, visit: Safe Haven Baby Boxes | safe haven law (shbb.org)