Florida Governor DeSantis signs bill officially approving use of baby boxes

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on April 29 legalizing the use of specially-equipped boxes, like those provided by the Safe Haven Baby Box organization, for infant surrenders in the state.

HB 791, sponsored by Rep. Nan Cobb, authorizes hospitals, fire stations, and EMS stations that are staffed 24 hours per day to install wall-mounted, temperature-controlled “baby boxes” that safely accept and protect infants. Once the child is placed inside, a silent alarm is triggered, immediately notifying authorities, who then retrieve the baby within minutes.

“In 2000, Florida enacted the Safe Haven legislation in response to tragedies concerning newborn abandonment at unsafe locations such as public restrooms, and trash receptacles,” Cobb explained during a committee hearing. “Since 2000, approximately 414 newborns have surrendered at a Safe Haven in Florida. In that time, 65 infants are known to have been unsafely abandoned, of which 32 survived and unfortunately 33 did not.”

The Safe Haven Baby Box organization, which supplies and oversees the installation of baby boxes across the country, already has a presence in the state because the previous law didn’t explicitly prohibit the use of baby boxes for infant surrenders. This bill, however, shores up any ambiguity in allowing parents the ability to safely and anonymously surrender a child using the device.

“This bill allows parents the alternative to surrender their infant in an infant safety device and avoids the possibility of abandonment or death,” Cobb said. “The bill codifies installation in hospitals, EMS stations, and fire stations, to have the device onsite and coverage also for the parents who are surrendering their child. Current law neither prohibits nor authorizes infant safety devices and it also does not make them mandatory.”

The bill’s passage follows the passage of HB 775, signed by DeSantis in 2024, which expanded the state’s safe haven law to allow parents 30 days to surrender an infant they feel unable to care for, rather than the previous seven (7) days. That law also allows a parent to call 911 for a direct surrender to first responders.