1. SAVE ABANDONED BABIES FOUNDATION
Start out with a thank you for their time.+
Fire Department
Safe Haven Law Training

2. Death in Our Own Backyard
119 79 41
I added this slide at the top… I know I said you don’t have to sell your position, but this may get them to focus on you even better for rest of presentation since it will become more concrete, fire up their passions and will only take 30 sec
This just a glimpse of the numbers. Our hope and we know yours as well is that the illegally abandoned number and especially the fatalities are zero someday.
I know this tragedy struck close to home for DuPage with the loss of a young life just last week.
This poor baby’s life may have been saved if the mother knew about and used the Safe Haven law
This hits home to everyone who’s a mother, who’s a father, everyone in DuPage County and IL
This has to stop!
The way to make it stop is to make sure everyone knows about the law and that people know where to go when they find themselves in a situation such as this and

3. The Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act
The Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act offers a protected, legal alternative to unsafe infant abandonment.
Newborn must be unharmed
Under 30 days old
Hospital/emergency medical care facility
Police station
College/University Police Department
Illinois State Police District Headquarters
Firehouse

4. Fire Department’s Role
Accept and provide all necessary emergency services and care for infant.
Offer the parent an information packet containing prescribed materials.
If the relinquishing parent returns within 72 hours, inform the parent of the name and location of the hospital to which the infant was transported.
Tell the parent that by relinquishing the child anonymously, he/she will have to petition the court if he/she wants to prevent the termination of parental rights and retain custody.
Take the baby, hand them the paperwork!
Allow the relinquishing parent to remain anonymous and to leave the police station without being pursued, provided that the infant shows no sign of abuse or neglect.
Arrange for the transportation of the relinquished infant to the nearest hospital as soon as possible.
Make a report to the state within 12 hours of accepting a relinquished newborn.

5. Information to Be Handed to Relinquishing Parent
Provides additional resources
DCFS
Save Abandoned Babies Fdn.
IL Dept of Human Services
Midwest Adoption Center
IL Adoption Registry & Medical Exchange
I deleted the paragraph about the flipside because you will just tell them and go to the next slide which is the flipside

6. Information to Be Handed to Relinquishing Parent
Lets birth mother know her rights under the law.
Explains steps necessary should she change her mind within 72 hours.
Reviews what happens to the baby once it is taken to the hospital and how the adoption process is started.
As an adoptive mom, I really wanted to know my birth mother had this information
Explains how parental rights will be terminated after 60 days.

7. Information to Be Handed to Relinquishing Parent
Allows birth mom to anonymously provide pre-natal, medical and physical history and information for newborn
It also allows her to write a letter to her child or her child’s new adoptive family
Self addressed, pre-paid envelope encourages her to send in information

8. Information to Be Handed to Relinquishing Parent
This is very important to make sure the relinquishing person is given this document. We know you don’t want to be called out to a house days later to find another life lost because the mother did not know the important signs that she needed medical attention.
Explains physical and emotional changes that may occur after birth.
Describes what physical changes to a woman’s body is typical
How to keep comfortable and alleviate pain.
How to recognize warning symptoms something is wrong
Need to make sure the birth mom is given this. We don’t want to see a life lost a week later because one of these typically young and uninformed mothers needed medical attention and didn’t know what the warning signs.
Gives additional, knowledgeable resources to find out more about postpartum care

9. Information to Be Handed to Relinquishing Parent
Offers Illinois adoptees and their birth and adoptive families post-adoption options
Birth and adoptive families can voluntarily share information
Need to make sure the birth mom is given this. We don’t want to see a dead woman a week from now because she didn’t know what warning signs to look for.

10. Next Steps Create Fire Department Protocol if you haven’t already.
Make sure birth parent packets are updated.
Please have birth parent packets located where firemen and office staff know where to find them easily.
If you have a social worker at your fire department, be sure he or she is also properly trained and has all of the Safe Haven information readily available.
Presentation Notes:
- here is a sample protocol available on SAB website
- have seen packets at PDs which reflect law of 2008 where baby could only be a week old
- the mothers are going to be nervous and may want to run away quickly, so need the information where it can be accessed quickly
-SROs are around the demographic most in need of education about the Safe Haven law according to the statistics
I deleted the request to post on websites since that is your next several slides
Fire Department spokesman should be reminding interviewers about Safe Haven Law in the media.

11. We Need Your Help Getting the Word Out
Please add information about Illinois’ Safe Haven Law to your websites
I’m using Rolling Meadows as they have done a fantastic job of adding information about the safe haven law to their website
Demographics of parents relinquishing are year old Caucasian, educated women.
Internet will be first place
Need to have info in a prominent spot that’s easy to find.

12. We Need Your Help Getting the Word Out
A description of the law.

13. We Need Your Help Getting the Word Out
These links all attach to SAB
Counseling services is a great addition and if you choose to do this would be for services in your geographic area.

14. Public Service Announcement

15. Why Educating About the Law is SO Important
This is the face of an educated young woman who had a bright future ahead of her. It is also the face of a young woman who was found guilty of murdering her newborn son.
This is the face of a young woman, Lindsay Johnson, whose whole life was ahead of her. She was getting a degree at a good school and apparently had a good life full of family and friends..
She eventually gave birth, alone, in her dorm room bathroom. ( I removed about the other students. They were the ones who alerted campus security when they heard the noises.)
She then suffocated her baby boy, stuffed him in her backpack and was found walking around campus with the backpack on.
The investigation showed that Johnson searched online for information on pregnancy, pregnancy symptoms, miscarriage, home abortions, and how to manage physical signs of pregnancy after the loss of a baby.
It is the hope of SAB that young women in Johnson’s or similar situation will learn about the Safe Haven law and the newborns life will be saved.

16. A Few of the Children Saved by the Law