Baby Boxes Proven to Work in Missouri, Expansion is Next

      Missouri House legislation aimed at saving the lives of babies has been fully implemented, it has worked, and now the House has acted to expand it to reach more communities across the state.

For mothers in need of help, the Safe Haven Crisis Line is (866) 99BABY1, or visit shbb.org

Missouri’s first Baby Box was installed at a fire station in Mehlville in August of 2023. Six months later it was used for the first time. (Photo: Matt Markivee, Missouri House Communications)

      In 2021, the legislature passed, and the governor signed, a bill allowing for the installation of Safe Haven Baby Boxes— secure, climate-controlled incubators where newborns can be safely and anonymously surrendered without legal consequences for parents. The boxes offer a compassionate option for mothers in crisis who are unable to care for their newborns.

      The first such box was installed at Mehlville in August of 2023. Just six months later, it was used for the first time: a newborn girl, believed to be only hours old, was placed in the box. She was quickly cared for, adopted, and is now healthy and safe.

      “We’ve had to use the Box already — and everything worked out perfectly. Everything worked the way it was supposed to. The legislation worked and the final product worked, and we’re just excited that through those efforts it’s going to expand it all across the state,” said Mehlville Fire Chief Brian Hendricks, who has become a figurehead for Baby Boxes in Missouri.

      The idea to bring the Boxes to Missouri was brought to Representative Jim Murphy (R-St. Louis) by a constituent who had read about their use in other states. Murphy sponsored the language that became part of House Bill 432 in 2021, allowing Boxes to be used in Missouri and for babies up to 45 days old to be surrendered anonymously.

      Murphy is proud to see that legislation become reality. In carrying it, he has consistently said that women in a crisis such as this should not be judged but praised.

      “A woman that goes through the process of deciding that [her] life is in such a situation that [she] can’t give this baby a future, she has made an incredible decision,” Murphy said. “She has made a decision that this baby is more important than her feelings, and we needed to make that as easy for her and as seamless for her, as anonymously as possible.”

      One of the Boxes’ biggest proponents in the House is Representative Raychel Proudie (D-Ferguson), a member of the House Appropriations Committee who led the effort to secure that funding in the budget.

Representatives Raychel Proudie (center) and Jim Murphy (right) visited the state’s first baby box, at the Mehlville Fire Protection District Station 2, and participated in a regular test of the box was carried out under Fire Chief Brian Hendricks (left). (Photo: Matt Markivee, Missouri House Communications)

      So far, seven Safe Haven Baby Boxes have been installed in Missouri and more are on the way, including a second in Mehlville soon to come online. This year, the legislature set aside in the current state budget $250,000 for a cost-share program to help entities cover the cost of installation, enough to contribute to 25 more Boxes.

      She said while many people may not be able to understand how a person could make the decision to give up a baby in this way, it is a reality, and one that often plays out with tragic results. The use of Baby Boxes prevents many such tragedies.  

      “I think we all look forward to a time where we can stop hearing about babies being found in dumpsters, or in bathrooms, or in trash cans, or under trees, or buried. We are in the business of not only saving lives but improving the quality of life for the citizens of Missouri,” said Proudie. “A lot of people may not be able to fathom it but for individuals who do first responders’ work, they’ve seen some of everything that the average person has not experienced, have not seen, and will never see, and so when they tell us that they need some assistance in this way and it makes sense, we’re more than happy to oblige.”

      Hendricks said every part of the state should have one of these, because this kind of crisis could happen anywhere. As an official who has already gone through the process of having one installed, he offers his help to leaders in other communities.

      “Just let me give you the answers to the test. I’ve tripped, I’ve fallen, I got back up. I’ve dealt with the state. I’ve dealt with the legislature. I’ve dealt with it. You can just take all this information and copy it and do it at your place,” Hendricks said. “I think you’re going to see this program explode across the state of Missouri because of the actions of the legislature, of the legislators.”

For those who want to learn how to get a baby box in their area, Chief Hendricks invites them to contact him at the Mehlville Fire Protection District.

      Proudie and Murphy recently visited Mehlville Fire Protection District House 2, the site of the first Baby Box in Missouri and where the little girl was dropped off last year. They participated in a test of the box and got to see firsthand the response to its use. They saw responders at the fire station react and saw the various alerts and alarms that go out when the Box’s door is shut.

      The Station’s personnel are trained in all manners of neonatal care, so they can ensure the health of a baby in any situation.

“It’s a commitment, but it’s worth every minute,” Hendricks said.

The whole system is impressively and carefully designed to monitor the health and safety of the baby, protect the anonymity of the person who puts the baby in the box, and provide that person with information on how they can seek help, and who to contact if they change their mind and want to be involved in that baby’s life.

Created thanks to legislation that began in the Missouri House, the state’s first Baby Box has already saved one life. The sponsor of that legislation, Rep. Jim Murphy, hopes it is never used again, but is glad it is here if needed.

“Inside the box there is a packet of information and that’s just for the person that surrenders the baby. It gives them resources that they can use to address their medical care, to address counseling. All roads lead to taking care of a woman in crisis as well as the baby.”  Hendricks said.

      Murphy remains impressed by the system every time he sees it, and he says that thoroughness is necessary.

      “The last thing we want to do is have a baby surrendered and not have all of these things happen to ensure that that baby, from day one, is going to be cared for. As you saw through all the redundancy in this program, I don’t know how it could fail because there’s so many different fail-safes in this, and it works. It just simply works and we’ve proven it works,” Murphy said.

      Hendricks said the night that the Box was used remains one of his proudest moments in 13 years of being a Fire Chief. When he called Murphy to let him know what had happened, Murphy broke into tears.

      “It was an incredible moment in my life. It moved me forever,” Murphy said. “If I do nothing else worthwhile, and I’ve done a lot of things in the legislature, but this one I think is the most important because we actually saved a life.”

“I hope it’ll never get used again, but if it does it needs to be here.”

Previous stories:

House legislation enables safe place to surrender newborns in Missouri

VIDEO: ‘Baby Box,’ created by House efforts, used for first time to safely surrender a newborn

VIDEO: ‘Baby Box,’ created by House efforts, used for first time to safely surrender a newborn

For the first time in Missouri a “Baby Box,” allowed in state law thanks to a 2021 House bill, has been used to safely hand over a newborn to emergency officials.

Last Thursday a baby girl believed to have been several hours old was left in the “Safe Haven Baby Box” at a Mehlville Fire Protection District Station 2. The child was taken to a local hospital, and is now in state custody. Authorities said she is in perfect health.

For mothers in need of help, the Safe Haven Crisis Line is (866) 99BABY1, or visit shbb.org

The Baby Box, installed in August and the only one in Missouri, is built into an outer wall at the Fire Station. It allowed the mother to place the girl into a bassinet and close the door. This triggered alarms in the fire station to let personnel know that a child had been relinquished.

Missouri law has since 2002 allowed for babies to be dropped off at places including hospitals and fire stations. The 2021 proposal from Representative Jim Murphy (R-St. Louis) to allow Baby Boxes in Missouri meant to expand on that 2002 law, to allow a person to drop off a baby without interacting with anyone, and with complete anonymity.

Murphy shared the news with his fellow legislators on Monday, and commended the little girl’s mother.

See our earlier story on the installation of this Baby Box

“She should be honored for making a great decision for a baby girl, who now will have a fruitful life,” said Murphy. “I personally would like to thank everybody in this body who voted for that bill, because today we celebrate life and saving a baby’s life, and I think that’s something worth celebrating and I think we should all be very proud of that.”

House legislation enables safe place to surrender newborns in Missouri

The first Baby Box in Missouri has been installed, and more are coming. 

Representative Jim Murphy (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Baby Boxes are an extension of the Safe Haven law, which allows parents to relinquish a newborn up to 45 days old without fear of prosecution.  That law, in place in Missouri since 2002, allows for babies to be dropped off at places including hospitals and fire stations, but Baby Boxes offer an option for parents who don’t want face-to-face contact.

      “The whole idea of the Baby Boxes is [for there to be] no interaction with one human to another, so if you just want to do it and you want to do it anonymously, this is a method of doing it,” said Representative Jim Murphy (R-St. Louis), who sponsored the language that made Baby Boxes an option in Missouri.

      For mothers in need of help, the Safe Haven Crisis Line is (866) 99BABY1, or visit shbb.org

      The first Box in the state is in his district, at Mehlville Fire Protection District Station 2.  There is a commitment for a second Box at Mehlville, and more fire stations in the state are expressing interest.

      Murphy said the Safe Haven Law is saving the lives of children. 

      “It’s happened time and time again where we’ve discovered babies in alleyways or in dumpsters and so forth.  For a woman to give up her child after birth has got to be a traumatic decision to make.”

      The box is built into an outer wall at the Mehlville Fire Station.  A parent can open it, place a baby inside in a bassinet, and close the door.  Alarms will alert personnel on duty, who will remove the bassinet and take the baby to a hospital.

      “I think the most important thing is that we try to deliver a message to mothers who are in this situation that their baby will be taken care of, and that’s the whole, entire goal of this thing is that the child shall have a good life from that day on and that we don’t villainize the person that gave the baby up.  We actually honor them for making a decision that if they can’t care for their baby that they gave it up in a proper way.” 

      Murphy said since his language became law two years ago, the state had to develop language to ensure Boxes would be safe.

      “Everything’s inspected properly, everything’s wired properly, the bassinet’s correct, there’s nothing in there that could endanger the baby, the alarms are set so that there are people readily available to retrieve the child … there’s all kinds of regulations that had to be promulgated to make sure that within a minute or two that that baby is put into care.”

      Founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes Monica Kelsey helped guide the legislation that allows for these Boxes in Missouri and other states.  So far more than 160 have been installed.

      “I introduced baby boxes to allow parents anonymity so they can place their infant in an electronically monitored box that calls 911 on its own.  It’s heated, it’s cooled, and the infants are only in these boxes for right about two minutes.  With the amount of stories that we’re having across this country right now with babies being abandoned, these boxes are saving the lives of these kids now where before they were being thrown in dumpsters, trash cans, alongside highways, and stuff like that.”

      She said there are many reasons a parent might want to give up a child, including factors like financial struggles, mental health issues, or domestic abuse.  She wants people to support those who utilize the Safe Haven Law.

      “Every story is different.  Every story is unique, and every person handles crisis differently, but the one thing that all of these parents that are surrendering are doing is they’re putting their child first, and we should celebrate that.”

      Babies who are dropped off under Safe Haven receive immediate care, and Kelsey said they are adopted within 30 to 45 days. 

      “Every baby that has come through the Baby Box program and the Safe Haven program has been adopted.”

      For those who drop off a baby under Safe Haven, there is time to change their mind and reclaim their child. 

      “I don’t think our intent is to take babies away from parents.  Our intent is to protect children,” said Murphy.

      “They can get their children back as long as the termination of parental rights has not happened and that usually takes between 30 and 45 days,” said Kelsey.

      The installation of this Baby Box has gotten a lot of attention, but Murphy and Kelsey want to stress that it is not the only place in the state to drop off a child.

      “Every hospital in America – every hospital in the State of Missouri – is a Safe Haven location, and most [states’ Safe Haven laws also] have fire stations, Missouri is one of them, so every fire station that is manned – that is also another avenue for women in the State of Missouri,” said Kelsey.

      Murphy’s Baby Box language was introduced in 2021 as House Bill 76, which was approved by the House 151-1.  It was later amended to and became law as part of, House Bill 432 sponsored by Representative Hannah Kelly (R-Mountain Grove)

      Since its installation in August, the Box in Mehlville hasn’t been used.  Since the Safe Haven Law was adopted in Missouri in 2002, 61 babies have been surrendered.  

      Kelsey said those who want to see a Baby Box installed in their community can contact her organization for help.

      “We’ll walk alongside you, or contact Mehlville Fire.  Talk to Chief [Brian] Hendrix.  See what his process was, see what he’s learned along the way … contact us if you want to get started.  We’ll help you raise the funds so the government doesn’t have to pay for it.  Mehlville Fire was 100% not tax dollars, so donors stepped forward for that … and that’s what we like to see.  We like to see the communities come together and do this on their own.”

      For mothers in need of help, the Safe Haven Crisis Line is (866) 99BABY1.  Kelsey’s organization, Safe Haven Baby Boxes, can be found online at shbb.org. 

Missouri WIC recipients to get farmers’ markets vouchers under new law

      A new law could soon have more Missourians on nutrition assistance going to farmers’ markets.

Representative Martha Stevens (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Language in House Bill 432 will bring the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) within the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program back to Missouri.  This will allow those receiving WIC assistance to use vouchers at farmers markets. 

      Missouri previously participated in the program up until more than a decade ago. 

      The FMNP language was from a standalone bill (House Bill 652) filed by Representative Martha Stevens (D-Columbia), whose background is in social work. 

      “It’s a way to address food insecurity, which is a significant issue in our state for low-income families.  It’s a way to support new moms and young children that are at nutritional risk.  It’s a way to draw down federal dollars to be distributed in our local economy, and it’s a way to support local farmers, but also for some families, potentially this might be their first introduction to a community farmers’ market, so the hope is that they’ll continue to use those markets going further even when they don’t potentially qualify for WIC benefits.”

      She said initially it will be couched in the existing Seniors’ Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program in the counties that offer it.

      “The hope is that after this is established that this is a program that can grow across the state.  We could even, potentially, receive more of the grant money from the USDA to grow that program,” said Stevens.

      The program will be maintained by the state Department of Agriculture, which must submit to the USDA by November an implementation plan.   Stevens said it will likely be next year before WIC recipients in Missouri can get vouchers, as the program funding is grant based.