On Thursday, Fort Dodge became the home of the first Safe Haven Baby Box in the state of Iowa.

Since Iowa’s Safe Haven Law was enacted in 2002, more than 60 infants have been safely surrendered statewide. Though none of those have been in Fort Dodge, Fort Dodge Fire Chief Steve Hergenreter knows that it’s always a possibility.

Prior to just a few months ago, if a parent wanted to surrender their infant under the Safe Haven Law without fear of prosecution for abandonment, they would have to hand the child to an employee at a hospital, health care facility or fire station.

With the Safe Haven Baby Box now located on the northeast side of the FDFD firehouse at 1515 Central Ave., parents who find themselves in a situation where they feel they need to give up their baby can have a layer of anonymity for their sacrifice.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Monica Kelsey, founder of the Safe Haven Baby Box, removes a bassinet holding an infant mannequin during a demonstration of the new Baby Box located on the north side of the Fort Dodge Fire Department on Thursday morning.

A blessing and ribbon cutting for the box was held on Thursday morning with members of the planning committee that led the mission to bring a baby box to Fort Dodge, local legislators who were responsible for changing Iowa’s Safe Haven Law to allow for the baby boxes, and other members of the community.

“What a great day for us in Fort Dodge to have this blessing and ribbon cutting for this very special service that’s going to be brought to our community, the Safe Haven Baby Box,” said Randy Kuhlman, CEO of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way.

Kuhlman highlighted that the Fort Dodge baby box is the first to be installed in the state of Iowa.

“We’re excited about being that pioneer, that pilot for this program,” he said. “We fully expect that there’ll be many more that will be coming to Iowa in the next year or two because of the service it provides to communities.”

The closest Safe Haven Baby Box location, he said, is St. Louis, Missouri.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Fort Dodge Fire Department Chief Steve Hergenreter explains the process of how the Safe Haven Baby Box works during a blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday morning. Using an infant mannequin, a full demonstration on the box was used.

The Safe Haven Baby Box is a state-of-the-art climate-controlled safety device to place an infant up to 90 days old that is being surrendered under the Safe Haven Law. The box has one door on the exterior of the building and one door inside the building. The parent is able to leave the baby anonymously, and a FDFD staff member will remove the infant from inside the building.

The Safe Haven Baby Box organization was founded in 2016 by Monica Kelsey, an Indiana woman who herself had been abandoned as an infant and works to advocate for Safe Haven Laws. Kelsey is also a retired firefighter and paramedic and also served in the military for eight years.

“This box is going to help this community and beyond to make sure that these children are protected and their mothers are protected,” Kelsey said. “Giving women options is what these women need. They need options. And today, Fort Dodge, we’re giving women options they never had before.”

Iowa is the 13th state to have a Safe Haven Baby Box device and the Fort Dodge box is the 171st to be installed. According to Kelsey, there have been 16 surrenders via Baby Box so far this year.

“Right now, we’re getting a baby every 10 days in our boxes,” she said. “Every 10 days, a parent — a selfless parent — who basically says ‘I want what’s best for my child and it’s not me,’ walks up to one of our baby boxes in one state or another and relinquishes that child into the baby box so that a loving family can raise the child. And that’s selfless, that is truly selfless.”

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Randy Kuhlmann, CEO of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way, welcomes guests to the blessing and ribbon cutting for the newly-installed Safe Haven Baby Box at the Fort Dodge Fire Department on Thursday morning.

Back in January, when Kuhlman and others approached Hergenreter about installing a Baby Box in the fire station, the chief immediately jumped on board with the project.

“The core of our mission is to help people in crisis and to save lives,” he said.

Hergenreter said that over the last several months, the FDFD staff have built a lot of excitement for the box’s installation and have gathered supplies like newborn diapers, beanies and baby blankets to be used if the need ever arises.

Several community leaders were involved in the planning committee, Kuhlman said. A few of the early advocates for the project were Fort Dodge Councilwoman Lydia Schuur, former LOTUS Community Project Director Ashley Vaala and Assistant Fort Dodge City Manager Ryan Maehl. In January, a few months after a tragic incident that resulted in the death of a newborn, the Baby Box planning committee formed and got to work.

“I think the circumstances surrounding why we have one are tragic, but I love that we are being proactive for any future mother or father who might feel the need to deliver a baby here and it’s a positive for us,” Schuur said. “And that’s wonderful, because there’s a lot of great things happening here and I love that this is something we can lead the way in the state with.”

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
State Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink and State Rep. Ann Meyer speak at a blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Safe Haven Baby Box installed at the Fort Dodge Fire Department on Thursday morning. The two local legislators were instrumental in passing legislation this spring to allow for the use of the baby boxes within Iowa's Safe Haven Law.

The first thing that had to happen, however, was for Iowa’s Safe Haven Law to be amended to allow for the devices. Local legislators state Rep. Ann Meyer and state Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink, both Fort Dodge Republicans, were instrumental in getting the legislation passed through both chambers and signed by the governor in a matter of a few weeks. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law in May.

“This project was less than 10 months from start to finish, and that’s really amazing,” Meyer said on Thursday.

Kraayenbrink said it’s an honor for Fort Dodge to be the first community in Iowa to be home to a Safe Haven Baby Box.

In giving the blessing on behalf of Fort Dodge’s religious community, the Rev. Danielle Shields, of First Baptist Church, shared that the night before, she was driving home and scanning through the radio to find something to listen to.

“I stopped and there’s this preacher on the radio and the thing that he’s talking about is how baby Moses, when his mom was taking him down to the riverbank and placed him in a basket so somebody else can raise that child,” she said. “I thought how appropriate for this moment, and how appropriate for this time, this place, that we now have a safe place where mothers and potentially fathers can bring a baby to be safe.”

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
"Saving babies one box at a time" is etched on the inside door to the Safe Haven Baby Box at the Fort Dodge Fire Department.

How does it work?

Inside the box is a medical bassinet. When an individual opens the door to the baby box, a silent alarm and call to 911 dispatch is triggered. A second alarm is triggered by a sensor in a medical bassinet when the infant is placed inside and the exterior door automatically locks. Within minutes, a first responder will remove the infant and transport it to UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center for evaluation. Once the infant is released from the hospital, the Department of Health and Human Services takes custody and begins the adoption process.

There is a 60-second delay once the alarm is triggered to allow the parent surrendering the infant time to leave the area and remain anonymous.

“We do not have any cameras on the outside of our building,” Hergenreter said. “It’s an ideal location. The street’s right there, so somebody could pull right up on the street, walk about 10 feet to the door and not worry about being caught on some type of security camera.”

There is, however, a camera inside the box, Hergenreter said. It does not capture the person putting the infant in the box, but it monitors the infant inside so if there aren’t any staff at the firehouse when the box is activated, FDPD personnel will be able to monitor the infant via live video until someone arrives.

When a parent places an infant in the box, there is paperwork they can take with them that gives them more information on what their options are and where they can find support. The National Safe Haven Crisis Hotline, 1-866-99-BABY-1, is staffed 24/7 and is available for any mother in crisis, regardless of if their state or region has a baby box location.

State law does allow either parent of a surrendered infant to petition the court for custody of the child if they change their mind prior to the termination of the parents’ rights. A court hearing would be scheduled to determine if the petitioner is in fact the infant’s biological parent, and if it is in the child’s best interest to be placed in the custody of its parent.

To ensure its safety, the device is visually inspected daily and the sensors and alarms will be tested weekly. Annually, the manufacturer will conduct a full inspection.