There’s a new Safe Haven Baby Box installed at Maumelle Fire Station #1. The boxes are equipped with alarm systems that immediately notify staff all around the station, both inside and outside.
The boxes lock from the outside once a newborn is placed inside it and feature automatic heating and cooling systems for newborns that are dropped off. "That’s a safety feature of this box so that someone can’t come up behind a mother and take the baby out," said Monica Kelsey, founder of the nonprofit Safe Haven Baby Box. "Also, we don’t want mom to take the baby out of the box still in a state of crisis. She’s more than welcome to come inside and get assistance. That at least gives us the option to assist her.”
The Arkansas Safe Haven law allows a parent to bring a newborn that's 30 days or younger to any medical, fire, or law enforcement department that's staffed for 24 hours.