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DCS director questioning ‘Baby Box’ safety

WOODBURN, Ind. (WANE)  The director of the Indiana Department of Child Services is working to get baby boxes removed from Hoosier firehouses.

The boxes were put in place to give mothers the opportunity to drop off unwanted newborns.

April, a Woodburn firefighter and paramedic celebrated the installation of a baby box at the Woodburn fire station. Now, the D-C-S Director is questioning the safety of that box, as well as another in Michigan City.

Monica Kelsey developed the baby boxes under the state’s Safe Haven law, which allows parents to give up unwanted babies up to 30 days old, without getting prosecuted.

Kelsey said the goal of the project is to save the lives of babies, that might otherwise be abandoned somewhere else.

According to letters obtained by The Associated Press, in addition to safety concerns, D-C-S Director Mary Beth Bonaventura said the agency would have to investigate each use of the box, as a case of abandonment. The group is also recommending that no other boxes be installed.

Kelsey says she doesn’t plan on stopping and will put two more baby boxes into use in Indiana and another in Ohio.

More than 30 babies have been surrendered since the Safe Haven law was put in place in 2001.

There are multiple phone hotlines in place to help mothers who are considering abandonment:

1-877-796-HOPE (4673)

1-800-510-BABY

1-866-99BABY1