ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque may become the latest New Mexico city to get a baby box. The city and county are hoping to make it possible for parents, to drop off newborns they feel they cannot care for.
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They’re already in seven different, more rural parts of New Mexico but right now, Albuquerque doesn’t have a baby box of its own.
While some local leaders want to change that, there are some lingering concerns about if mothers who use the boxes will remain truly anonymous.
“You know we have to have a safe place for folks that are in that desperate moment and better than leaving them in a trash can or somewhere else,” said Adriann Barboa, Bernalillo County District 3 Commissioner.
In a joint city and county meeting on Thursday, Albuquerque city councilors and Bernalillo County commissioners discussed the early stages of the Safe Haven baby box program for newborns surrendered within 90 days of their birth.
The boxes have been installed in a handful of New Mexico cities and towns including Hobbs after a teenage mother was seen on camera throwing her newborn in a dumpster and later sentenced to 16 years in prison.
The closest Safe Haven box to the metro was installed in Belen last October with the first baby surrendered there in February.
“The boxes are equipped with features to ensure the baby’s safety such as climate control, silence alarms, and automatic locking mechanisms,” said Abigail Stiles, City of Albuquerque Senior Policy Analyst.
When a baby is placed inside emergency personnel will immediately be notified. The baby will then be placed in protective custody until adopted or put into foster care.
“New Mexico’s safe haven baby law permits the parents to surrender their unharmed newborns that are up to 90 days old anonymously without facing legal consequences,” said Stiles.
Earlier this year, concerns arose about whether the process is truly anonymous since New Mexico’s Children, Youth, and Families Department is required by law to conduct an investigation.
“The state law is very clear that you can surrender a baby anonymously. But then it came to light that CYFD was investigating every baby who was surrendered and trying to find the family,” said Tammy Fiebelkorn, City of Albuquerque District 7 Councilor.
Councilors said they will work with the county to address those privacy concerns. Bernalillo county received a grant of $10,000 to implement two boxes and the hope is Albuquerque Fire Rescue will supply the facilities.
The first potential location is the new station being built on the westside. “It can be hard to have a small child so I can only imagine those people that don’t have that strong support system or have some kind of a substance abuse issue. And they get frustrated, and they really don’t mean to harm their child,” said Renee Grout, City of Albuquerque District 9 Councilor.
City councilors Renee Grout and Karissa Peña are expected to introduce a resolution next month to work on putting a baby box in the city.
City and county representatives are also set to visit the box installed in Belen to learn about the installation process and how they have navigated CYFD investigations.
