Jackson to begin fundraising for Tennessee's first 'safe haven' baby drop-off box

The City of Jackson has approved and is beginning to raise funds for the first Safe Haven Baby Box in Tennessee.

City leaders voted in a special-called session Tuesday to sign a contract with Safe Haven Baby Boxes.

The move comes after Gov. Bill Lee amended the “safe haven” law in 2020.

Safe haven laws and baby boxes: How Tennessee newborns are protected from being abandoned

“This has been done in other states,” said Jackson City Mayor Scott Conger. “This will allow mothers who are at their lowest point to surrender their babies to the Safe Haven organization, which also works with the DCS and adoption agencies."

Such organizations have a waiting list for families to adopt babies that are surrendered through Safe Haven boxes, he said.

"I can't imagine being at a point in your life that the best option is for you to give up your child," Conger added. "That's unimaginable. We want to provide the safest option possible for people in the worst moments of their lives, and hope that we never have to use it."

The box, proposed for Fire Station #2 on Westwood Avenue, is temperature-controlled with a bassinet inside. Once it's opened, an alarm has triggered that summons first responders to the box, which will also be accessible from inside the fire station to allow easy access for firefighters.

"For years, it's been an understanding about Safe Haven baby drop-offs that you can take a baby to a hospital or fire station, and we'll take care of it," said Jana Compton, training officer at the Jackson Fire Department. "But this will make it even safer."

The city's target fundraising goal for the box is $15,000-20,000, to cover construction and installation as well as training for the firefighters and Emergency Medical Service workers.

The only recurring cost will be an annual $300 fee to service the alarm system.

“The benefit to Safe Haven baby boxes are that, now, mothers can (drop them off) anonymously,” said Christy Tillman, communications supervisor at West Tennessee Healthcare's Med-Center EMS. She spoke at Tuesday's special-called meeting.

“The mother might feel nervous about going to someone and handing her baby over, but now she can place the baby safely in a box."

Once a baby is deposited, ambulance services will be immediately dispatched. The child will then be brought to the hospital, where it will fall under the care of West Tennessee Healthcare and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

“Within 45 days, the mother can reach out to DCS,” Tillman said. “There will be a packet of information in the box, where she can go back to DCS and get her baby back if she changes her mind. So taking the baby to the box is not the end-all-be-all for the mother. She still has rights to the baby after the fact.”

Care for the mother is also considered in the process. In addition to outlining maternal rights, informational packets left inside the boxes will include postpartum products and phone numbers of local clinics where mothers can receive anonymous medical and psychological help.

“The whole point of this is for the mom to not feel the stigma of giving up a baby," Tillman said.

There are guidelines for the child’s wellbeing, too.

Even though the system is entirely anonymous, signs of abuse will be carefully monitored.

Tennessee law dictates that any child given up within two weeks of birth at a designated location will be immediately accepted into care without question or legal action against the mother, provided the baby is “left in unharmed condition.”

The law, established in 2001, originally called for a 72-hour period for drop-offs.

It was amended to two weeks in 2020.

"Christy (Tillman) and I were both pregnant very young, and so teen pregnancy and unplanned pregnancies are something that's really on the forefront of our lives," Compton said. "We know the struggles we endured, even with a great family base. And when we heard this law was changed, we knew this was an opportunity for us to make a difference."

Tillman agreed.

“Everybody's on board with this,” she said. “We want to care for the mother. It's not just about saving the baby. Of course, that's what we want to do, and that's what the initial goal is. We don't want the baby ending up in a dumpster. But we also want to care for the mother. So there are resources for the baby, obviously, but there are also resources for the mother.”

Part of the contract agreement and fundraising will include a billboard with a 24-hour crisis line for new mothers to call, along with information about available resources.

City officials hope for a three to six-month completion date for the box after fundraising.

Have a story to tell? Reach Angele Latham by email at alatham@gannett.com, by phone at 731-343-5212, or follow her on Twitter at @angele_latham. 

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Jackson to begin fundraising, TN first 'safe haven' baby drop-off box