Bowling Green now has its first Safe Haven box that provides more anonymity to parents surrendering their newborns.
The city Fire Department has installed the box at the Lovers Lane fire station.
Public Information Officer Katie McKee said the climate-controlled box can be accessed outside the building, and once an infant is placed there, an alarm is triggered.
“When that door closes, it’s immediately locked, and it will notify first responders so they can come get that baby, have it medically examined, and then placed for adoption," McKee explained.
Kentucky’s Safe Haven law gives parents 30 days to surrender their babies to police and fire stations, as well as hospitals with no questions asked. That often requires directly handing the infant over to first responders, but the box offers more confidentiality.
Bowling Green’s Safe Haven box is only the 15th one in Kentucky and 131st in the nation, according to the BGFD.
The Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation creating the Safe Haven Baby Box in 2021.
