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Partnering Agencies (updated 7/7/2005)

Acadiana

Abbeville General Hospital
Acadian Ambulance
Acadiana Chapter of the American Red Cross
Acadiana Youth, Inc.
Boys and Girls Club of Acadiana
Catholic Social Services, Diocese of Lafayette
City of New Iberia, Neighborhood Resource Office
Crowley Police Department
DSS - Iberia Parish Office of Family Support
Healthy Start (The Family Tree)
Iberia Comprehensive Community Health Center
Iberia Crippled Children's Association
Lafayette General Medical Center
Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital
Savoy Medical Center
Smile Resource Center
Southwest Medical Center
St. Landry Fire Protection District #3
Stuller Place
Teche Regional Medical Center
The Extra Mile Family Resource Center
The First Three Years

 

Capital Area

Ascension Hospital
Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office
Associates in Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine
Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center
Baton Rouge General Medical Center
Baton Rouge Pediatric Clinic
Care Pregnancy Clinic
Catholic Community Services, Baton Rouge
Child Advocacy Services, Hammond
Community Builders, Inc.
Crossroads Pregnancy Resource Center
East Baton Rouge Early Childhood Supports and Services (ECSS) Program
East Baton Rouge Fire Protection District #6
East Baton Rouge Fire Protection District #9
Family Services of Greater Baton Rouge
Hood Memorial Hospital
Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office
Kids Are Special Day Care
Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office
Louisiana State Police Troop A
North Baton Rouge Women’s Help Center
Office of Family Support – Community Mobilization and Outreach Services
Restoration House
Riverside Medical Center
St. Elizabeth Foundation
St. Helena Parish Hospital
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office
Urgent Care and Family Medicine Clinic
Dorothy Wallis/Caring to Love Ministries
West Feliciana Parish Hospital
Woman’s Hospital of Baton Rouge
YWCA Family Resource Center

 

Central

Alexandria Police Department
Avoyelles Hospital
Bunkie General Hospital
Catahoula Parish Sheriff’s Office
Ferriday Police Department
LaSalle General Hospital
Louisiana State Police Troop E
LSU Health Sciences Center – Huey P. Long Medical Center
Pineville Police Department

 

Northeast

Caldwell Memorial Hospital
CASA
Center for Children and Families, Monroe
Childrens Coalition of Northeast La.
D.A.R.T. (Domestic Abuse Resistance Team)
E.A. Conway Medical Center
ECSS (Early Childhood Support Systems)
Families Helping Families of Northeast Louisiana
Glenwood Regional Medical Center
Glenwood School Based Health Center
Life Choices Pregnancy Resource Center
Lincoln General Hospital
Monroe Fire Department
Monroe Police Department
Morehouse General Hospital
North Louisiana Area Health Education Center
Ouachita Child Advocacy Center
Ouachita Parish Fire Department
Ouachita Parish Health Unit/Office of Public Health
Pine Hill Children’s Advocacy Center
Richland Parish School Based Health Center
St. Francis Medical Center
Tri-Ward General Hospital
University of Louisiana at Monroe - Social Work Department/
Foster/Adoptive & Child Welfare Family Resource Center
The WellSpring
Volunteers of America
West Monroe Boys and Girls Club
West Monroe Fire Department
West Monroe Police Department

 

Northwest

Caddo Fire Protection District #4
Cullen Police Department
Gingerbread House: Bossier/Caddo Children’s Advocacy Center
Louisiana State Police Troop G
LSU Health Sciences Center – Shreveport
Natchitoches Parish Hospital
Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office

 

Orleans

ACCESS Pregnancy & Referral Centers
Best Western Hotels/LaPlace
Catholic Schools Diocese, Houma - Thibodaux
Crossroads Pregnancy Resource Center
Delgado College
Dillard University - Office of Campus Life
Family Services of Greater New Orleans
Hampton Inn LaPlace
Harbor Freight
Hope House Children’s Advocacy Center
Houma Police Department
KIC Counseling & Resource Center
LaPlace Shell Station
LSU AgCenter, St. John Parish
Medical Center of La. at New Orleans
Methodist Home for Children
Northlake Crisis Pregnancy Center
Office of Public Health, Region 9
Orleans Parish Prison
The Parenting Center of St. Tammany Parish Hospital
Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office
Pregnancy Testing Center
St. Anne General Hospital
St. Tammany Parish Community Action Agency
St. Tammany Parish Hospital
St. Tammany Parish Public Health Unit
St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office
Terrebonne Parish Children’s Advocacy Center
Thibodaux Regional Medical Center
University of New Orleans - Department of Sociology
Xavier University

 

Southwest

ABC Pregnancy Resource Center
Allen Parish Hospital Specialty Clinic
Calcasieu Women's Shelter
DeQuincy Memorial Hospital
Louisiana State Police Troop D
Oakdale Community Hospital
School Age Mothers Program, Calcasieu Parish School Board
West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital

 

Statewide

Louisiana Department of Social Services, Office of Community Services
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Public Health
Louisiana Association for the Education of Young Children
Louisiana Maternal and Child Health Coalition
Louisiana Violence Prevention Alliance
310 INFO/211

 

If you would like to become a Safe Haven partner, please contact:
Takesha Matthews at tmatthews@pcal.org
or at (225) 925-9520 ext. 203

 

 

 

 

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What can you do to promote Safe Haven?

Call 1-800-CHILDREN (244-5373) for more information.

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Safe Haven Law Fact Sheet

  1. What does the law say?
  2. What are the designated emergency care facilities?
  3. What if the parent cannot get to a designated facility?
  4. What happens to the baby after he or she is surrendered?
  5. What happens if the other parent is found?
  6. What happens if the other parent is not found?
  7. What happens to the parent who surrenders the child?
  8. What happens if the parent who surrenders the child changes his or her mind?
  9. How is Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana Involved?
  10. Why did Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana offer the Kidline for this purpose?
  11. What is an Emergency Care Facility (ECF)?
  12. What is a Safe Haven Partner?

 

1. What does the law say?
The law states that a parent who wishes to give up an infant (unharmed and less than 30 days old) may leave the infant in the care of an employee of a designated emergency care facility. Click here for the full text of the law.

2. What are the designated emergency care facilities?
Any of the following:

3. What if the parent cannot get to a designated facility?
If the parent is unable to travel to one of these facilities, he or she may call "911" and a law enforcement officer or emergency medical service provider will come and pick up the infant and transport the child to a hospital.

4. What happens to the baby after he or she is surrendered?
If the child is not surrendered at a hospital, he or she will be brought to a hospital and examined. Along with a complete physical examination, the physician will determine the estimated date of birth and test the infant for HIV and hepatitis, fetal exposure to alcohol and signs of abuse or neglect.

The state will take custody of the child when he or she is ready to be released from the hospital and will search for the other parent.

5. What happens if the other parent is found?
If the other parent is located, he or she will be informed of the relinquishment and can then choose to waive or claim his or her rights to the child.

6. What happens if the other parent is not found?
If the search is not successful, the court will terminate the rights of the other parent.

7. What happens to the parent who surrenders the child?
When a parent surrenders a child under the guidelines of the Safe Haven law, he or she is not guilty of a criminal act of neglect, abandonment or child cruelty. At the time of surrender, the parent is given a card with a toll-free number, 1-800-CHILDREN, which he or she can call to find out more about his or her rights and also to anonymously give information about the infant's medical history and prenatal care.

8. What happens if the parent who surrenders the child changes his or her mind?
The parents has 30 days to change his or her mind about surrendering the infant. He or she would then have to go to court in the parish where the child was surrendered and file to reclaim parental rights.

9. How is Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana Involved?
Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana has agreed to let the Office of Community Services use our Kidline number, 1-800-CHILDREN, as the toll-free number given to parents who surrender their children and in a public awareness campaign across the state.

Our trained volunteers answer the Kidline from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day and have been given additional training on how to handle calls about the Safe Haven law. Our hope is that expectant mothers who might be hiding their unwanted pregnancies and don't have anywhere to turn will call the Kidline to find out their options. If they choose to surrender their infant under the Safe Haven law, they need to know how and where to do so legally.

10. Why did Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana offer the Kidline for this purpose?
While we never want to see a child abandoned, we want mothers who are desperate enough to leave their baby in a dumpster or toilet to know that there is a safe and legal alternative. We see this as child abuse prevention at its earliest moment, and we want people to know that the Safe Haven law exists.

11. What is an Emergency Care Facility (ECF)?
An emergency care facility (ECF) is designated by law as a Safe Haven site. Those facilities must be prepared to take an infant should a parent choose to relinquish a child under the Safe Haven law at that site. Emergency care facilities in Louisiana are all:

•hospitals •medical centers
•public health units •EMS providers
•police stations •fire stations
•crisis pregnancy centers •child advocacy centers

12. What is a Safe Haven Partner?
A Safe Haven Partner is any individual, non-profit organization, association, community group or business who supports PCA Louisiana's efforts to raise awareness about the Safe Haven law. Partners agree to display Safe Haven posters or brochures and to help spread the word about Safe Haven in their community. Anyone or any group who would like to can become a Safe Haven Partner.

Call 1-800-CHILDREN (244-5373) for more information.

 

 

 


Register for Updates www.pcaamerica.org Contact Information Staff/Board Login

Kidline: Safe Haven Awareness Campaign

PCA Louisiana never wants to see a child abandoned. Louisiana's Safe Haven Law allows a parent to anonymously surrender an infant (unharmed and less than 30 days old) in the care of an employee of a designated emergency care facility.

The law, written by state Rep. Cedric Glover, was passed in April 2000 to combat the problem of newborns being thrown into dumpsters, drowned in toilets or left on the steps of a church. Sadly, the law was not used until a public awareness campaign began in 2004.

Now, five years after Safe Haven became law, PCA Louisiana asks for your help in spreading the word about this law, because every child deserves to be SAFE.

This awareness campaign is run in conjunction with the Louisiana Department of Social Services, Office of Community Services. See the Partnering Agencies link for a complete list of all involved agencies.

PCA Louisiana's very own Kidline number, 1-800-CHILDREN, is the toll-free number given to parents who surrender their children and is the contact number for the statewide public awareness campaign.

Our trained volunteers who answer the Kidline from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day have been given additional training on how to handle calls about the Safe Haven Law. Our hope is that expectant mothers who are hiding their unwanted pregnancies and don't have anywhere to turn will call the Kidline to find out their options. If they choose to surrender their infant under the Safe Haven Law, they need to know how and where to do so legally.