Safely surrender your baby
Don't abandon your baby. There is another option.
If you are a parent or have legal custody of a child, you can legally and confidentially surrender your baby within three days of birth under California’s Safely Surrendered Baby law.
Safely Surrendered Baby law
The Safely Surrendered Baby law provides a safe alternative for the surrender of a newborn baby in specified circumstances. Under the Safely Surrendered Baby law, a parent or person with lawful custody can safely surrender a baby confidentially, and without fear of prosecution, within 72 hours of birth.
The Safely Surrendered Baby law requires the baby be taken to a public or private hospital, designated fire station or other safe surrender site, as determined by the local County Board of Supervisors. No questions will be asked and the law protects surrendering individuals from prosecution of abandonment.
A parent or person with lawful custody has up to 14 days from the time of surrender to reclaim their baby.
How to safely give up your newborn
| Process for safely surrendering your newborn | |
|---|---|
| Who | A parent who is unable or unwilling to care for an infant can legally and confidentially surrender their baby. This also applies to someone with legal custody of the baby. |
| When | A baby may be surrendered anytime within three days of birth. |
| Where | At any public or private hospital to emergency room staff in California. |
| Cooling off period | A bracelet will be placed on the baby for identification and a matching bracelet will be given to the parent. The bracelet will help identify the child if the parent changes their mind during the cooling off period. The cooling off period is up to 14 days from the day you voluntarily surrender your baby. |
| Do I have to give information to the people taking the baby? | No. Nothing is required. Hospital staff will give you a medical information questionnaire to gather family medical history, which should be useful in caring for the child. It is up to you to give any additional information concerning the baby. |
| What happens to the baby? | Safely surrendered babies are given a medical exam and placed in a foster home or pre-adoptive home. |
| I surrendered my baby. Now what? | You can leave the hospital emergency room without fear of arrest or prosecution for child abandonment. Your identity will remain confidential and you have the comfort of knowing your baby will remain in safe hands. If during the cooling off period you decide you want to reclaim the baby, you can take the identifying bracelet back to the hospital and staff will provide information about the baby. |
If you or someone you know wants to surrender a baby, please take the child to any hospital emergency room. Remember: no shame, no blame, no names. It’s the law.