Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe is pleased to announce the County’s Safe Surrender Program celebrated success for the fifth time this year with the report of a safely surrendered newborn baby girl. This most recent safe surrender occurred on June 2, 2014 at a hospital in Tarzana. A baby girl was also safely surrendered on Memorial Day at a fire station in Lancaster.
As is standard practice, the newborn is in protective custody and will be placed with families approved for adoption by the Department of Children and Family Services.
“In the last two weeks, two mothers have made the difficult, but brave, choice to safely surrender their babies,” said Supervisor Knabe. “Now these two baby girls have the chance to grow-up and be part of a loving family. When we consider the alternative to what could have happened to these girls, we are thankful these mothers, who found themselves in a desperate situation, made the right decision for their babies. We must continue to spread the word about the Safe Surrender program so we can continue to protect the lives of our most vulnerable.”
This is the fifth Safe Surrender in Los Angeles County in 2014, and the 118th since the program began nearly 13 years ago. 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.
To learn more about the Safe Surrender Program, visit BabySafeLA.org.