Ohio’s Safe Haven Law Explained
The Ohio Safe Haven Law establishes an immediate and legal means for parents, in state custody, to release care of their newborns without fear of punishment or threat of intimidation. Id. Prior to enactment of the law, parents struggling with the responsibilities of a new child lacked options, and resorted to heinous ways of abandoning their newborns , leading to several deaths. Id. The Safe Haven Law offers a humane and mandatory procedure for ensuring babies who are surrendered to a designated safe haven meet state and federal safety and health standards. See Ohio Revised Code § 5104.129. By surrendering the child, the parent is granted immunity from civil and criminal liability, unless the parent harms the child or maliciously abandons the newborn. See Ohio Revised Code §§2919.21, 2151.421(A)(1). Said immunity is granted by the court upon termination of parental rights. Id.
Ohio’s Implementation of the Safe Haven Law
Each state in the U.S. has adopted a form of the Safe Haven Law, but only since 2001. Ohio has incorporated the spirit of the law with both criminal and civil provisions. For Ohio parents who are interested in the Safe Haven Law they should be aware that Ohio’s law differs from some other states in that there is no mandatory waiting period for someone wishing to relinquish a child to a hospital and leave the baby safely in care. Currently in Ohio, a parent can leave an unwanted child with an overworked nurse at any hospital. No identification is required, no age limit is placed on the parent dropping off the child.
The following summarizes Ohio’s implementation of the Safe Haven Law:
A newborn may be relinquished at a hospital to "an employee of the facility who is trained in the procedures for receiving the child." An employer not limited to hospitals may designate an employee as the person to relinquish a child to.
The relinquishing parent may give the employee a medical history of the child, but is by no means confined to doing so. Upon presenting the child at the hospital, the designated staff member has a duty to contact the police, county department of job and family services, or county child welfare agency. The relinquishing parent is not required to give his or her name to the agency, but maybe encouraged to do so. Otherwise, the child will be identified by a "number" and placed in the system as such.
The employee must take the child from the parent, not hand him/her over to a third-party. If the parent refuses to relinquish the child to the employee, then the employee should "inform the parent that Ohio law permits him or her to relinquish a newborn child at a hospital without being subject to criminal prosecution and that Ohio law permits the court to disregard or seal the record of the relinquishment proceeding and ask [the parent] to voluntarily relinquish the child to the hospital."
The employee is then required to call the police, who will arrive at the hospital and take possession of the newborn while filing a report. The police will then take the newborn to the police station and keep the baby for a few days in the hope that the parent returns to reclaim the baby. If the parent does return, the police will return the child. If the parent does not return, a social worker is assigned to the case and moves forward with the adoption process.
Safe Surrender Locations in Ohio
In Ohio, four types of facilities qualify for the surrender of an infant under its Safe Haven law: Each county maintains at least one designated hospital that could accept the above types of surrender. For example, Cuyahoga County has University Hospitals Case Medical Center as its designated hospital, eligible to receive infant surrenders. Other counties may have multiple designated hospitals available for surrender, so the best place to start with locating a facility for surrender in any given county is to contact its DP&J. With regard to other types of facilities: a newborn can be surrendered to licensed emergency medical service (EMS) responders, licensed police, sheriff or highway patrol offices, or licensed fire departments. Upon receiving a request from a parent for protective custody of a newborn, they can then take possession of the child and subsequently contact their DP&J.
Ohio’s Safe Surrender Process
If you are a distressed natural parent in Ohio who would like to legally give up your baby without running afoul of the law or risking criminal liability, there is a process: "Safe Surrender." The Ohio Legislature enacted the Safe Haven Law to prevent offense and injury to children by allowing distressed parents to give up the child without legal consequences.
A natural parent shall not be prosecuted for abandonment, abuse, or neglect if that parent voluntarily transports the child to a hospital emergency department, free-standing emergency department, or other location established in accordance with O.R.C. § 5101.123(B)(1)(a):
- (1) For a period of up to sixty days following the child’s birth, a parent may voluntarily and confidentially deliver the child to an employee of a hospital emergency department, a free-standing emergency department, or other location in accordance with division (B)(1) of section 5101.123 of the Revised Code.
- (2) A parent who voluntarily and confidentially delivers a child to an employee of a hospital emergency department or free-standing emergency department may request anonymity. If an employee of the emergency department obtains evidence that the child is not abandoned or abused under sections 2151.03 and 2919.22 of the Revised Code, the parent shall be deemed to have voluntarily surrendered the child to the hospital. If, however, an employee of the emergency department obtains evidence that the child is abandoned or abused under those sections, the employee shall contact the appropriate authorities. The employee shall inform the parent of the name and address of the agency to which the employee has reported the child as abandoned or abused.
- (3) A parent who voluntarily and confidentially delivers a child to a location established in accordance with division (B)(1)(a) of section 5101.123 of the Revised Code shall be deemed to have voluntarily surrendered the child to that location. On receiving the child, personnel of the location shall complete a release of parental rights form, which shall include information about the identity of the person to whom the child is delivered and the circumstances of the delivery, as far as known. As applicable, the personnel shall attach the form to the identification and surrender data completed pursuant to division (D)(1) of section 5101.123 of the Revised Code.
The personnel accepting the child shall immediately contact the public children services agency, or the private child placing agency, in the department district in which the child is delivered or found. The personnel shall give the public children services agency, or the private child placing agency, the original release of parental rights form. The personnel shall remove all information from the surrender form that identifies the surrendering parent or other persons.
Many Ohio courts have maintained that relinquishing custody of a child without surrendering parental rights does not relieve parents of the obligation of child support. However, the fact that a family court may maintain child support obligations does not imply that the court which allowed the relinquishing of a baby will do the same.
A parent may place the child up for adoption at any time. The relinquishment of parental rights and consent to adoption may be given:
(1) After the birth of the child, executed and verified by the natural parents of the child, under oath, before a person authorized to take oaths in this state; . . .
An affidavit shall contain, as the natural parents desire, the following:
The name, age, birthplace, and residence of the natural parents;
The name, sex, and date of birth of the child;
The name, residence, and address of the agency or person to whom the relinquishment is given;
The name of the natural parents, if any, the name by which the child has been known, if any, the name desired by the natural parents, if any, for the child after the adoption, . . .
The surrender shall be unconditional, unless a conditional surrender is specifically agreed upon at the time and place the surrender is made. If a conditional surrender is agreed upon and the conditions therefore are breached, the surrender shall be deemed unconditional.
Legal Aspects and Protections
For parents who use the Safe Haven Law, they may be relieved to know that they will not be charged with committing a crime merely for leaving a child at a safe haven location. As per Ohio Revised Code Section 2151.351, a parent or guardian shall not be charged with committing a crime for leaving a child at a safe haven site, nor shall they be prosecuted, adjudicated a delinquent child, or otherwise be considered an delinquent, unruly, neglected, or abused child for having done so.
In Ohio, similar to many other states, there are blanket immunity provisions that protect people from civil or criminal liability for certain types of conduct. The Ohio statute, O.R.C. § 2151.351(A)(1)(b), provides immunity from prosecution for a number of offenses for people that assist in transferring possession of a newborn infant, including:
Certain crimes are still subject to prosecution, but discussed in more detail below. This section also permits a parent or guardian to seek assistance by a "hospital employee , " who shall not be liable in civil or criminal court for assisting the parent in leaving the child at the hospital and shall not be liable if the parent leaves a newborn infant. "Under the law, to be considered civilly liable, a person must have done something wrong (malpractice). Since the parent is not permitted to be prosecuted by law enforcement, they cannot sue for civil damages either. The only possible exception would be malpractice by the property owner if someone was injured by improperly maintained premises.
Some aspects of the Ohio Safe Haven Law are not covered by the immunity provisions above. The criminal conduct of desertion of infants, O.R.C. Section 2901.36(B), is excluded from the statute’s provision. If a parent commits the crime of infant desertion by leaving a child at a safe haven location rather than an alternative type of care, the parent can still be criminally prosecuted for abandonment, although the alternative methods of care could be the basis for mitigation while sentencing on the crime of desertion. They can be sentenced to between 6 months and 5 years for abandoning a child.
The Safe Haven Law’s Community Impact
The impact of Ohio’s Safe Haven Law on communities in Ohio has been generally positive, with the law providing an avenue for the safe abandonment of infants, and encouraging the reporting of infants abandoned in other ways. Official statistics are somewhat limited. According to the most recent statistics available from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, in 2011 eighteen infants were surrendered safely; in 2012, twenty infants were surrendered; in 2013, twenty-three infants were surrendered; in 2014, twenty-five infants were surrendered; in 2015, thirty-three infants were surrendered; and in 2016, thirty-two infants were surrendered.
It appears that statewide, parents in Ohio have embraced the Safe Haven Law, now referenced as House Bill 66 by the Ohio General Assembly, since its enactment in September 2001.
The law has triggered a heightened awareness among many in the state of Ohio. The number of hospitals and fire stations that have registered as "safe havens" continues to rise, as do the number of agencies appearing on the state’s Safe Haven website.
Ohio’s Safe Haven Law Resources
In addition to the providers designated by Ohio law, a multitude of hospitals, fire stations, and emergency service stations throughout the state are afforded the same protection as Safe Haven providers. Moreover, no hospital, fire department, or emergency service provider in Ohio can refuse to accept a newborn child who is left in their care. This assures that parents will have easy access to facilities where they can safely surrender their newborns. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services provides many resources to address issues surrounding the Safe Haven Law including a brochure that contains a wealth of information for parents considering the possibility of surrendering a newborn child. This resource provides answers to many of the difficult questions that a parent may be considering such as: In addition , other helpful organizations provide additional resources, local support, and referrals to other services. Among these organizations is the Ohio Family Resource Center that allows individuals to search by county to find family resources specific to the locale of their choice. Additionally, 211 is a 24-hour nationwide helpline providing confidential support. Users can also text a zip code for access to resources in their area. 211 Ohio provides information regarding local, regional, and state support, including health and safety information, social services, human services, housing, and employment assistance. Calling or texting this number allows parents to inquire about available programs and services to assist them with physical and mental health for their own well-being.