Georgia's first legal safe haven baby box goes fully operational Friday morning at Henry County Fire Station 6 in Ellenwood, giving parents in crisis a way to anonymously surrender a newborn around the clock. The climate-controlled device, installed at 30 Fairview Road, locks immediately after closure and automatically alerts first responders to retrieve the infant inside.
The station will hold a blessing ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Friday to mark the box's launch, according to Atlanta News First. As reported by WSB-TV, Stockbridge Community Church sponsored the device and covered the cost of installing it at the Ellenwood station.
Under Georgia law, parents who surrender a newborn at a hospital, police station or fire station face no criminal charges for doing so. The state's newborn safety devices are designed with dual alarm systems checked at least monthly and require twice-daily interior visual inspections, per standards detailed by the same WSB-TV report — rules meant to guarantee a fast response and prevent equipment failures.
A Grassroots Push Years in the Making
The Ellenwood installation didn't happen overnight. Local resident Aime Parks Anderson spent years pushing Henry County officials and state lawmakers to bring baby boxes to Georgia, working closely with state representatives and fire officials along the way, the station's report notes. Her advocacy helped lay the groundwork for the state legislation that made Friday's opening possible.
That legislation, House Bill 350, also known as the Eliza Jane Warner Act, was signed by Governor Brian Kemp in May, according to Live Action. The law legalized newborn safety devices at fire stations, police stations, hospitals and ambulance services statewide, and it extended the legal surrender window from 30 days to 45 days. It was named for an infant who died in 2019 after being abandoned in a cooler in Troup County, Live Action reports. Georgia's original law, meanwhile, still allows surrender within 30 days, as reflected in current state statute described by Atlanta News First.
Hoodline previously reported on the statewide legalization push when the General Assembly passed HB 350 in April, opening the door for local fire departments to install the devices.
Henry County Plans Three More Devices
Ellenwood's box is only the beginning of a larger county effort. Henry County Fire Rescue intends to install four safe haven baby boxes across the county over the next three years, backed by a $100,000 fundraising goal meant to cover installation and a decade of maintenance, according to Henry County Government. Assistant Chief Frank Robinson is overseeing that fundraising campaign, per the county's own announcement.
Once a baby is placed inside the box, first responders transport the infant to a hospital for medical evaluation before custody formally transfers. Under Georgia Department of Human Services policy, only state employees with the Division of Family & Children Services are legally authorized to take custody of a surrendered infant after that initial medical check, according to the Georgia Department of Human Services.
How Georgia's Safe Haven Law Evolved
Georgia's Safe Place for Newborns Act first took effect in 2002, but it originally required mothers to relinquish infants younger than seven days old in person at a medical facility and to show proof of identity, the state human services agency notes. That requirement discouraged some parents seeking full anonymity, and the law was later expanded to include fire and police stations.
Momentum for anonymous drop boxes specifically built after the June 2019 discovery of an infant known as “Baby India,” found alive inside a plastic bag in Forsyth County. That case prompted state lawmakers to pass HB 881 in 2020 allowing newborn safety devices, though the pandemic delayed implementation, according to a Facebook post from the group Bringing Newborn Safety Devices to Georgia. The infant in that case survived, and the initial bill passed unanimously.
Nationally, the nonprofit Safe Haven Baby Boxes has installed more than 400 devices across the country and operates a 24/7 text and call hotline that answers questions about surrendering an infant safely and legally. The Indiana-based organization, founded to reduce infant abandonment, had recorded roughly 60 infants safely surrendered through its boxes nationwide as of mid-2025, according to Cardinal News.
A National Debate Over Anonymity
Not everyone in the child welfare field is fully on board with the anonymous model. Groups including the National Safe Haven Alliance argue that drop boxes eliminate chances to gather medical history or offer in-person counseling and postpartum care to mothers in crisis, according to TIME. Critics quoted in that reporting say face-to-face surrenders allow for immediate medical evaluation of the mother that a box cannot provide.
Even so, local officials and Stockbridge Community Church are treating Friday's blessing ceremony as the start of a broader safety net for Henry County, with three more boxes still to come over the next few years.
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