Safe Haven

Public Act 93-0820, amending The Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act became effective on July 27, 2004. The amendment requires police stations to accept relinquished newborn infants. April 11, 2005 was designated "Save Abandoned Baby Day" in Illinois and in recognition of that day, the Gurnee Police Department has placed a newly created sign in the lobby of the Gurnee Police Facility which designates our location as a "Safe Haven" for abandoned babies.

A newborn infant is defined as a child that is determined, by a licensed physician, to be 72 hours old or less when it is relinquished. If there is no

 
evidence of abuse or neglect of the newborn infant, the relinquishing person has a right to leave the police station and not be pursued or followed. The officer accepting the newborn infant must offer an information packet and if possible, must clearly inform the relinquishing person that his or her acceptance of the information packet is completely voluntary. The information packet contains the following forms:
  1. Illinois Adoption Registry Application
  2. Birth Parent Registration Identification
  3. Information Exchange Authorization
  4. Illinois Adoption Registry Medical Questionnaire
  5. Local Counseling Referral List
  6. Denial of Information Exchange Form

A new parent or parents can be under severe emotional distress. This at times leads to poor decisions regarding the newborn infant. There have been instances where newborns have been abandoned in an unsafe environment which causes injury or death to the child. We want everyone to know that the Gurnee Police Facility is a safe environment where a newborn can be relinquished and the parent(s) can remain anonymous if they choose and avoid any civil or criminal liability for the act of relinquishing the infant.