|
Spring Grove Police Department is a
Designated “Safe Haven”
 Public
Act 93-0820, amending The Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act became
effective on July 27, 2004. The amendment requires police stations to
accept relinquished newborn infants. April 11, 2005 was designated
“Save Abandoned Baby Day” in Illinois and in recognition of that day,
the Spring Grove Police Department has placed a newly created sign in
the entry of the Village of Spring Grove which designates our location
as a “Safe Haven” for abandoned babies.
A newborn infant is
defined as a child that is determined, by a licensed physician, to be 72
hours old or less when it is relinquished. If there is no evidence of
abuse or neglect of the newborn infant, the relinquishing person has a
right to leave the police station and not be pursued or followed. The
officer accepting the newborn infant must offer an information packet
and if possible, must clearly inform the relinquishing person that his
or her acceptance of the information packet is completely voluntary.
The information packet contains the following forms
-
Illinois Adoption Registry
Application
-
Birth Parent Registration
Identification
-
Information Exchange
Authorization
-
Illinois Adoption Registry
Medical Questionnaire
-
Local Counseling Referral
List
-
Denial of Information
Exchange Form
A
new parent of parents can be under severe emotional distress. This at
times leads to poor decisions regarding the newborn infant. There have
been instances where newborns have been abandoned in an unsafe
environment which causes injury or death to the child. We want everyone
to know that the Spring Grove Police Department is a safe environment
where a newborn can be relinquished and the parent(s) can remain
anonymous if they choose and avoid any civil or criminal liability for
the act of relinquishing the infant.
|
