Vermont’s Baby Safe Haven Law offers parents safe places they can relinquish their babies—anonymously and legally. They can do so without fear of being arrested or criminally charged, as long as the babies have not been abused or neglected.   To be covered by the law, a person (it does not have to be a parent) must hand the baby, up to 30 days old, to an employee or volunteer of a Safe Haven.   THE BABY CANNOT BE LEFT ALONE.

A Safe Haven is any fire or police station; health care facility; place of worship; adoption agency licensed in Vermont; or place an emergency responder, contacted through 911, agrees to meet the person to receive a baby.   If you are an employee or volunteer working in a designated Safe Haven, it’s important to know that:

1) You may receive a baby at any time; and
2) You are immune from civil or criminal liability for actions taken to fulfill your duties under this law.

If you are presented with a Safe Haven baby, the following guidelines will help you carry out your responsibilities under this law.

Protocol for Receiving a Baby

1.           Take physical custody of the baby. Briefly examine the baby to make sure he/she is not in immediate danger. If the baby appears to be in immediate danger, call an ambulance for transport to the nearest appropriate medical facility immediately.

2.           Offer the person the Safe Haven brochure published by the Agency of Human Services.

3.           Advise the person that while she/he is not required to reveal any identifying information, she/he may provide information about the child’s medical history using the voluntary medical form that is attached to the Safe Haven brochure. Encourage the person to complete the form and leave it with you. If the form is left with you, please complete the information at the bottom of the form with the date you received the baby and your location.

4.           Document any additional information about the child, the birthparents, and/or the situation that is offered voluntarily, including any names the person is willing to provide.

5.           Call 911. Advise the dispatcher that you have physical custody of a baby abandoned under the Baby Safe Haven law. Ask the dispatcher to send an ambulance to transport the baby to the nearest hospital and a police officer to take legal custody of the baby.

6.           Provide any forms and information collected to the officer who takes custody of the infant. Keep a copy for your records.

7.           Immediately call your local DCF, Family Services District Office to report what has happened.     If the baby is left after normal business hours, on a weekend, or on a state holiday, call Family Services’ Emergency Services Program at 1-800-649-5285 to make a report.

Note: If the person comes back to request the return of the baby and the baby is still there, do not give the baby back.   Instead, instruct the person to contact the local Family Services District Office of DCF.

For additional information or materials concerning the Baby Safe Haven Law, contact the Vermont Department for Children and Families or visit the Vermont Baby Safe Haven Website at http://babysafehaven.vermont.gov/.

Vermont Firefighters to Aid Department in Honduras, One of Poorest Nations of the Hemisphere

Imagine being a firefighter or EMT in a town in Central America of 90,000 people where the equipment consists of one 45 year old fire truck and a pick up truck to take patients to the hospital.   The fire department’s inventory of personal protective equipment consists of three helmets. Imagine a region with 50% unemployment and wages for a skilled tradesperson averaging $7.00 a day.

Clearly outside help is needed to help the emergency services provide the basics of protection.

Enter the Shelburne-Charlotte Rotary Club, who in 2002 started a volunteer exchange program which sends 65 to 80 volunteers down each winter to help with projects in Emergency Services, medical services, and education related projects.   One of our goals this year is to fill a cargo container by December 1 with donated equipment and supplies for the fire and rescue departments. Bob Platt from the Shelburne Fire Department will be going down for two weeks in January to help train and distribute the donated equipment.

Organizers ask each department to go through their tool rooms, gear rooms, and closets of their station and look for equipment that is no longer used. Remember that while we don’t want to pay to ship unsafe junk, we believe each department has some equipment that has been replaced by newer gear. Private businesses who donate can take a tax write off equal to the value of the items donated. 

We also would be interested in learning of any fire trucks or ambulances that are going to be retired. Often the representatives of the company selling the new equipment are not in a position to offer much of a trade in even though some of the equipment has low mileage.   Please consider helping our brothers and sisters in Honduras.   For additional information, contact Bob Platt of the Shelburne Volunteer Fire Department at 802-238-0779.