With May being National Foster Care Month, the state Department of Children and Families continues to push its message that everyone needs to do their part to help Connecticut kids get into safe and loving homes.
They say one way to achieve that is the state’s Safe Havens Act for Newborns.
The law allows a parent who does not think they can care for a newborn to voluntarily surrender custody of that infant until he or she is 30 days old.
When a parent brings a baby to the walk-in emergency entrance at a hospital for surrender, the law dictates that that parent is not required to provide any personal information. Any information they do provide will remain anonymous.
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Next, after receiving medical care, the baby will be placed in a home that has been pre-approved by DCF for permanent adoption.
Kasey Fredericks, of West Hartford, adopted his 2-year-old daughter Charlotte through the Safe Havens Act for Newborns.
“She's incredibly smart. She loves to play outside, she's got a great imagination,” Fredericks said. “I can't imagine not being her dad, and it’s been just an amazing journey.”
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It is a journey that started with a phone call, when Fredericks and his partner were told they were selected to adopt a newborn brought to the hospital by her birth mom.
“I was an overnight parent. We had nothing prepared,” Fredericks said. “We stopped at Target on the way and grabbed a car seat and a stroller.”
DCF wants parents that are struggling after childbirth to know the Safe Havens Act offers a safe and stigma-free option.
“It is lifesaving for babies, and for moms,” Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes said. “This prevents babies from being left in unsafe places outside, in dumpsters, at the side of the road, when people are desperate and don't know what to do.”
The Safe Havens Act passed in 2001. Since then, a total 52 newborns have been surrendered, according to DCF. During the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 there was an uptick, with nine babies surrendered over those two years statewide.
The hospital with the most cases is Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford. Since the law was enacted, six babies have been surrendered there.
“Even if we save one life in in ten years, it's important,” Ivan Sarmiento Jr., St. Francis Hospital Emergency Department nurse manager, said. “For any medical professional, that's what you sign up to do, right, you want to make sure people are safe, especially the most vulnerable.”
A few years back, Sarmiento helped a mom safely relinquish custody of her baby.
“As a medical professional, it felt rewarding, that we were able to care for not only one, but two people,” he said. “We saved the life, potentially, and we were able to provide emotional support for the mother as well.”
That process is what united Charlotte with her dad - the two-year-old now enjoying days filled with laughter and imagination.
“I hope that the knowledge of the program grows,” Fredericks said. “It's there to help parents, and it's also there to help adoptive families, and it's a great avenue.”
