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The Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act allows a
parent to anonymously relinquish her or his newborn infant to the care
and custody of a safe haven. It provides a safe alternative to parents
who may be under severe emotional distress or are unable to provide for
the basic needs of an infant. The law provides immunity from prosecution
for parents who relinquish their unharmed newborn to a safe haven under
the terms of this law.
A "newborn" is defined as 7 days old or younger.
"Relinquish" means leaving an infant with personnel of a hospital,
emergency medical facility, staffed fire station, or police station
(designated safe havens). This law states that a parent may relinquish
an infant anonymously, and it provides procedures that the designated
safe havens and government agencies must follow when a parent
relinquishes an infant.
If a newborn infant is taken to a staffed fire or police
station, personnel will examine the newborn infant and, if there is no
sign of abuse or neglect, will transport the infant to the nearest
hospital for further examination. If abuse is determined, the fire or
police station personnel must inform law enforcement officials. The
hospital is required to report the relinquishment of a newborn infant to
the
Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) State Central
Registry (1-800-252-2873) within 12 hours of acceptance of the infant.
The hospital will have temporary protective custody of
the newborn infant. The newborn infant will be examined by an emergency
room doctor and will receive medical treatment, if needed. As long as
there is no abuse present, there will be no attempt made to locate the
birth parent. Designated safe haven personnel must provide an
information packet to the relinquishing parent containing information
about the
Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange, written
notice of the process to terminate parental rights (which will take
place no sooner than 60 days after the relinquishment), and a list of
counselors. Hospital personnel must inform the relinquishing parent that
they may complete the information packet voluntarily and anonymously.
Within 24 hours, DCFS must contact law enforcement
officials to ensure that the relinquished newborn infant is not a
missing child. DCFS will then contact a licensed adoption agency, which
will seek an order for legal custody and take physical custody of the
newborn infant. Within three days of assuming custody, the adoption
agency shall file a petition in the circuit court stating that the
newborn infant was relinquished and the agency intends to place the
newborn infant in an adoptive home. The adoption agency will also file
for termination of parental rights and appoint a guardian for the
infant.
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