AB 631

Relinquishment of a newborn under the Safe Haven law

Under current law, a parent may relinquish a newborn child who is 72 hours

old or younger to a law enforcement officer, emergency medical services practitioner,

or hospital staff member, and that person is required to protect the health and safety

of the child and deliver the child to the intake worker for the juvenile court. Once

the child is in the custody of the intake worker, the juvenile court must determine

whether to continue to hold the newborn child in custody and, within 30 days of that

determination, to establish a permanency plan for the child that ensures a placement

or home for the child that provides long-term stability. Under current law, the

juvenile court may terminate parental rights of the parents of a child who has been

relinquished. Under current law, a parent who relinquishes a newborn in this

manner is entitled to anonymity. This law is commonly referred to as the safe haven

law.

This bill makes various changes to the safe haven law. The bill applies the safe

haven law to a newborn child who is 30 days old or less, and allows a parent of an

Indian child to relinquish the child to a tribal official.

The bill requires a person who takes custody of a relinquished child to make a

reasonable effort to provide the relinquishing parent with a brochure that includes

a statement of the parent's right to remain anonymous, the steps to take if the parent

changes his or her mind about relinquishment, an explanation of the importance of

knowing the child's social and health history, an explanation of the importance to an

Indian child of maintaining a social and cultural connection to his or her tribe, and

a form on which to provide identifying information for each parent and information

about the child's social and health history and tribal affiliation, if any.

Under the bill, a person who takes custody of a relinquished child must make

a reasonable effort to solicit certain information about the social and health history

of the child and any tribal affiliation of the child and, if the parent declines to provide

the information solicited, must encourage the parent to submit the information to the

county or, in Milwaukee County, to DCF at a later date. Under the bill, a person who

obtains information relating to the tribal affiliation of a relinquished child must

promptly transmit the information to the appropriate child welfare department, and

the bill requires the child welfare department that obtains information relating to

the tribal affiliation of a relinquished child to promptly transmit the information to

the tribal agent of the child's tribe.

Under the bill, after the juvenile court finds that a relinquished newborn child

should continue to be held in custody, the court must transfer guardianship and legal

custody of the child to the appropriate public adoption agency for placement in a

licensed foster home, and the court must include in the continuation of custody order

a finding that there is probable cause to believe that the newborn has been

relinquished. The proposed adoptive parent must sign a statement acknowledging