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Safe Haven Annual Reports

As required by Louisiana Children's Code, Article 1160, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is submitting this report to both the House and Senate Committees on Health and Welfare regarding the Safe Haven Law.

A series of high-profile infant abandonment cases across the country prompted the Louisiana Legislature to combat the problem. In 2000, Louisiana enacted the Safe Haven Law, amending the Children's Code Articles 1101 and 1193 and Title XVII of the Children's Code, Articles 1701-1706, to provide for the Safe Haven relinquishment of newborns. That Code was again amended in 2003 and most recently in 2018. The entire Safe Haven Law, contained in LA Children’s Code Chapter 13, Articles 1149-1160, provides a safe, legal, last resort alternative to abandonment.

Through House Concurrent Resolution 107 of the 2016 Legislative Session, a Safe Haven Consortium formed of a select group of representative of emergency care facilities and key stakeholder groups to assist DCFS in developing and maintaining a registry of Safe Haven sites and to promote best practice related to the Safe Haven Law. DCFS assists in organizing and facilitating the Consortium meetings. Included in Section 6.0 of this report is a summary of the Consortium's activities and recommendations as HCR 107 required.

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