Date of Award
Spring 2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts with University Honors
Department/Program
Politics & Government
Advisor
Nestor, Franchesca
Keywords
Policy Evaluation, Abandoned Baby, Abandoned Infants Assistance Act, Abortion, Adoption, Anonymity, Baby, Baby Abandonment Prevention Act, Baby Boxes, Baby Drawers, Baby Moses, Best Practices, Child Welfare, County, Data Collection, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Effectiveness, Emergency Medical Services Provider, Federalism, Fire Station, Hospital, Infant, Infant Adoption Awareness Act, Infanticide, Jurisdictions, Legislation, Life, Neonaticide, Parent, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Police Station, Post-Roe, Process Evaluation, Roe v. Wade, Safe Haven, Safe Surrender, Safely Surrendered, Social Services, State, State Legislature, Supreme Court
Abstract
Safe Haven laws allow parents or guardians to legally relinquish an infant without fear of prosecution at a designated safe site, where the infants are provided with temporary care until placed into the care of Child Service Professionals. This honors thesis project analyzes Safe Haven baby laws in their current form in the United States, finding that Safe Havens laws need to be a complement to other programs, as they alone cannot solve infant abandonment. My findings further recommend the need for policy modifications to Safe Haven laws to ensure data is being tracked to be analyzed and to build greater public awareness of the existence of Safe Havens. Establishing best practices for policy implementation requires data tracking from which to develop a strategy that ensures quality data collection and establishes processes by which to evaluate data regularly. Improving Safe Haven laws depends upon establishing better tracking systems to include accurate numbers of legally and illegally surrendered infants at either a statewide and/or federal level.
Recommended Citation
Brock, Kolby, "A Study of Safe Haven Baby Laws in the United States: One Life Saved or Too Many Unknowns to Evaluate?" (2023). Honors Projects. 6.
https://digitalcommons.owu.edu/honors/6
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