‘MIRACLE BABY’

First Newborn Surrendered to Florida ‘Safe Haven’ Box 2 Years After Installation

The safe haven box was installed in December 2020 but hadn’t been used until now.

A newborn has been surrendered to Florida’s only “safe haven” box for the first time since the state installed it in December 2020. The Ocala Fire Rescue announced that the box was used for the first time over the holidays during a Thursday press conference. “I knew when we did this in 2020, this day would come–we all did–we just didn’t know when,” Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn said, calling the infant a “miracle baby.” Each climate-controlled box has a silent alarm that alerts firefighters of a baby’s presence within a minute of its use. There are 134 boxes across the country intended to provide a place for parents who want to safely and anonymously give up their baby for adoption, and 23 infants have been placed in baby boxes nationwide since the program’s November 2017 launch.