By SAM BAILEY
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — The Ottawa Fire Department is working to become one of the first Kansas locations to install a baby drop-off box after implementation of legislation allowing for parents to surrender their infants anonymously.
House Bill 2024, passed this year, allows an individual with lawful custody of an infant up to 60 days old to be dropped off in an established safety device. The law changed the previous requirement that the infant be handed over to a person.
Under the bill, police stations, sheriff’s offices, law enforcement centers, fire stations, city and county health departments, and medical care facilities can now install a safety device. It must be temperature controlled, feature an alarm when a baby is inside and have a lock that makes the baby unreachable from the outside.
During a legislative committee on child welfare oversight June 29, Rep. Timothy Johnson, R-Basehor, said he was proud of the committee and the votes gathered to pass the bill.
Shawn Dillon, Ottawa assistant fire chief, also spoke at the hearing. He said about a year ago, a Franklin County resident contacted the department about creating a memorial for a child they recently lost.
The department is now receiving donations to install a Safe Haven Baby Box.
Johnson announced he and his wife would donate $500 to go toward the installation of the box.
Sen. Beverly Gossage, R-Eudora, said she would be honored to donate beside Johnson.
“I was proud to carry this bill on the Senate floor and that our senators and our House members passed this bill,” Gossage said.
Kevin Albin, social media director for Safe Haven Baby Boxes, said the process to produce and install the boxes typically takes eight to 12 weeks. Training, safety tests and other processes begin after installation.
Based in Woodburn, Indiana, Safe Haven Baby Boxes manufactures the boxes and ships them to the drop-off location, where people at the site can hire local companies to install the boxes, Albin said.
Multiple towns in Kansas are in the early stages of installation, and while Safe Haven can’t guarantee timelines, Albin said the company hopes there will be multiple fully operational boxes by the end of the year.