Baby Safe Haven

Protecting the Newborn

All City of Lake Elsinore Fire Stations participates in a statewide program to protect newborn infants from being abandoned by providing a "safe haven" for the unwanted newborn.

The Safely Surrendered Baby Law (SSB) was implemented on January 1, 2001, in response to the increasing number of abandoned baby deaths in California, as reported by media accounts. The law is intended to spare the life of an infant by encouraging parents or persons with lawful custody to safely surrender an infant at a "safe surrender site" within 72 hours of the child's birth rather than abandoning them in an unsafe location. In October 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger signed legislation extending the SSB Law permanently, effective January 1, 2006.

By law, a mother can turn in her unwanted newborn to any fire station without fear of reprisal or prosecution.

Any newborn received at a fire station is given a medical assessment and safe transport to a hospital for follow-up care and placement.

For more information, visit the California Department of Social Services website.