Oklahoma and Indiana Record First Safe Haven Baby Box Surrenders

Oklahoma recorded its first surrender through a Safe Haven Baby Box when an infant was placed in the climate-controlled box at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa; hospital staff retrieved the baby and contacted state child-welfare officials to arrange an adoptive placement. The hospital says the box locks and quietly alerts staff, while its location and procedures are designed to protect the parent’s anonymity. Separately, Waco officials are considering a box at a fire station, with local advocates arguing it could offer parents a confidential, safe alternative to abandoning an infant. In West Terre Haute, Indiana, a baby girl was surrendered at a fire department’s box and was reported healthy.