Apr. 9, 2024 4:30p
(WGTD)---Safe Haven baby boxes will be starting to pop up in southeast Wisconsin as a result of a bill signed late last year by Gov. Evers.
The bill allows mothers—no questions asked-- to anonymously relinquish their newborns by placing them in boxes that are installed outside of hospitals, police departments and fire stations. Alarms go off if a box is opened and something is placed inside.
Such boxes are already on order in Elkhorn and Whitewater.
Monday night in Racine, a city council committee recommended acceptance of a $20,000 grant from the Knights of Columbus to finance a box that’ll be placed at the fire station in Racine at Washington and Lathrop. It’ll be the city’s responsibility to pay a $500 annual maintenance and certification fee.
Josh Weber is the department’s Emergency Medical Services Division chief. The last time a baby was left at a Racine Fire Department station was some 20 years ago. "So this is a low-frequency but high acuity issue if it does occur," said Martin, expressing support for the move.
The bill that Evers signed last year was the result of an incident in Whitewater over a year ago in which a dead baby was found in a box in a garage bag that had been left in a field. The alleged mother—a 38-year-old—is facing charges.
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