Supervisor Don Knabe, Chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, is pleased to announce that a baby girl was safely surrendered recently at Beverly Hospital in the City of Montebello.

The newborn Hispanic female was born February 9 and is reported to be in good health. As is standard practice, the baby girl is in protective custody and will eventually be placed with a family approved for adoption by the Department of Children and Family Services.

I want to thank this newborn’s mother for doing the right thing, said Supervisor Knabe. The Safe Surrender Program continues to protect babies from abandonment and give mothers a safe, secure, and anonymous way to get their child into safe hands.

This is the first Safe Surrender in Los Angeles County in 2009 and the 70th Safe Surrender since the program began eight years ago. The last surrender occurred in Valencia in September 2008. A total of seven newborns were surrendered last year. The program was initiated by Supervisor Knabe and approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors in 2001. It allows someone to surrender an infant that is no more than three days old, as long as the infant shows no signs of abuse.