HAPPENED AFTER THE INFANT WAS DROPPED OFF. WHEN RACINE FIRE DIVISION CHIEF JOSHUA WEBER OPENED THE CITY’S FIRST SAFE HAVEN BABY BOX LAST YEAR, RACINE STATION FOR BABY BOX IS NOW OPEN. IT WAS FOR THIS MOMENT SHOCK AND HAPPINESS AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT EMOTIONS. A BABY GIRL, HEALTHY AND SAFE. THE FIRST IN THE STATE. LEGALLY SURRENDERED USING THE BOX UNDER WISCONSIN LAW. A PARENT CAN LEAVE THEIR UNHARMED BABY IN A NEWBORN SAFETY DEVICE WITHOUT FEAR OF PROSECUTION. IF THE CHILD IS UNDER THREE DAYS OLD. THE FIRE CHIEF SAYS THERE AREN’T ANY CAMERAS HERE ON THE OUTSIDE OF FIRE STATION. FOR A PERSON SURRENDERING, A BABY CAN PLACE THE CHILD INSIDE THIS CLIMATE CONTROLLED BOX AND THEN WALK AWAY ANONYMOUSLY. ALL OF OUR MEMBERS HERE AT RACINE FIRE ARE EITHER EMTS OR PARAMEDICS. THEY PERFORM AN ASSESSMENT ON THE BABY. CLEAN BABY OFF. WRAPPED IT IN BLANKETS AND TRANSPORTED TO ASCENSION ALL SAINTS. WE GOT ANOTHER BABY. SAFE HAVEN FOUNDER MONICA KELSEY SAYS THE LITTLE GIRL IN RACINE IS THE 70TH BABY SURRENDERED TO A BOX NATIONWIDE. SAFE HAVEN BABY BOXES WAS BIRTHED OUT OF MY OWN STORY OF BEING ABANDONED AS AN INFANT BACK IN 1973, WHEN THERE WAS NO SAFE HAVEN LAW, THERE WAS NO RESOURCES FOR MOMS. THERE ARE SEVEN SAFE HAVEN BOXES AROUND WISCONSIN. WHO ARE WE TO JUDGE WHEN SOMEONE CHOOSES SOMETHING SAFE FOR THEIR CHILD? AND THIS CHILD WASN’T ABANDONED. THIS CHILD WAS LOVINGLY, SAFELY, LEGALLY AND ANONYMOUSLY, YOU KNOW, PLACED IN A SAFE HAVEN BABY BOX BY A PARENT THAT WANTED SOMETHING MORE FOR THEM. WE’VE SEEN THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT HAVING SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN PLACE. THOSE ARE. DIFFICULT SITUATIONS TO DISCUSS. CHILDREN ALWAYS HIT HARDER. YES, THEY DO HAPPEN, BUT WE WANT TO REMIND PEOPLE THAT THERE ARE OPTIONS. SO THOSE DIFFICULT SITUATIONS BRINGS US HERE IN RACINE. EMILY POFAHL, WISN 12 NEWS. THE CHIEF SAY
Safe Haven Baby Box used for first time in Wisconsin, newborn surrendered in Racine
The Racine Fire Department said the newborn was found in good health and was immediately cared for by on-duty firefighters and emergency medical personnel.
Updated: 12:50 AM CDT Oct 24, 2025
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A newborn was safely and legally surrendered in a Racine Safe Haven Baby Box on Oct. 16, which marks the first time a Safe Haven Baby Box has been used in the state of Wisconsin, the Racine Fire Department said.Wisconsin’s Safe Haven Law allows a parent to legally surrender their unharmed newborn anonymously and without fear of judgement or prosecution in an infant safety device, or with an officer, emergency medical services practitioner, or hospital staff member. The Safe Haven Baby Boxes provide a secure, climate-controlled space to do so. Each box is equipped with a 24/7 monitoring system and silent alarm that alerts first responders the moment a baby is placed inside of one, Safe Haven Baby Boxes said. Safe Haven Baby Boxes is an organization out of Indiana that has been helping agencies install these types of devices since 2016. In that time, Safe Haven Baby Boxes said they’ve helped with 70 safe surrenders and over 170 additional handoffs.A baby girl was surrendered in the Racine Fire Station Four’s Safe Haven Baby Box, near Washington and Lathrop avenues, just before 12:15 p.m. on Oct. 16.The fire department said the newborn was found in good health and was immediately cared for by on-duty firefighters and emergency medical personnel. The baby was then taken to a hospital for evaluation and is now in the custody of child protective services. The process of finding a permanent adoptive home is now underway.“This mother’s decision was not abandonment—it was an act of love,” said Monica Kelsey, founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes. “She chose life. She chose safety. She chose hope.”Watch: Wisconsin’s third safe Haven Baby Box Opens in Racine The Safe Haven Baby Box at the Racine Fire Station Four was installed on Dec. 10, 2024. It was the third one installed in the state of Wisconsin.There are now seven Safe Haven Baby Boxes in Wisconsin. They are located in Racine, Howard, Reedsburg, Watertown, Elkhorn, Whitewater and Trevor. The first box was installed in Reedsburg in 2024.There are now 390 boxes across 23 states, Safe Haven Baby Boxes said.In a release, the Racine Fire Department thanked its community partners who supported and helped make the installation of the Safe Haven Baby Box possible. “Their commitment to the safety and well-being of infants and families in crisis has made a lasting impact,” the Racine Fire Department said in its release.Safe Haven Baby Box does have a hotline for parents in crisis. That number is 1-866-992-2291.Top Headlines’They were tapping my phone for 6 weeks’: FBI raids Riverwest man’s homeUSPS workers accused of stealing Menards rebates from mail1 dead in triple shooting; Milwaukee police search for shooterWATCH Parents charged in death of 4-year-old son, abuse of twin sister
A newborn was safely and legally surrendered in a Racine Safe Haven Baby Box on Oct. 16, which marks the first time a Safe Haven Baby Box has been used in the state of Wisconsin, the Racine Fire Department said.
Wisconsin’s Safe Haven Law allows a parent to legally surrender their unharmed newborn anonymously and without fear of judgement or prosecution in an infant safety device, or with an officer, emergency medical services practitioner, or hospital staff member.
The Safe Haven Baby Boxes provide a secure, climate-controlled space to do so. Each box is equipped with a 24/7 monitoring system and silent alarm that alerts first responders the moment a baby is placed inside of one, Safe Haven Baby Boxes said.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes is an organization out of Indiana that has been helping agencies install these types of devices since 2016. In that time, Safe Haven Baby Boxes said they’ve helped with 70 safe surrenders and over 170 additional handoffs.
A baby girl was surrendered in the Racine Fire Station Four’s Safe Haven Baby Box, near Washington and Lathrop avenues, just before 12:15 p.m. on Oct. 16.
The fire department said the newborn was found in good health and was immediately cared for by on-duty firefighters and emergency medical personnel. The baby was then taken to a hospital for evaluation and is now in the custody of child protective services. The process of finding a permanent adoptive home is now underway.
“This mother’s decision was not abandonment—it was an act of love,” said Monica Kelsey, founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes. “She chose life. She chose safety. She chose hope.”
Watch: Wisconsin’s third safe Haven Baby Box Opens in Racine
The Safe Haven Baby Box at the Racine Fire Station Four was installed on Dec. 10, 2024. It was the third one installed in the state of Wisconsin.
There are now seven Safe Haven Baby Boxes in Wisconsin. They are located in Racine, Howard, Reedsburg, Watertown, Elkhorn, Whitewater and Trevor. The first box was installed in Reedsburg in 2024.
There are now 390 boxes across 23 states, Safe Haven Baby Boxes said.
In a release, the Racine Fire Department thanked its community partners who supported and helped make the installation of the Safe Haven Baby Box possible. “Their commitment to the safety and well-being of infants and families in crisis has made a lasting impact,” the Racine Fire Department said in its release.
Safe Haven Baby Box does have a hotline for parents in crisis. That number is 1-866-992-2291.
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WATCH Parents charged in death of 4-year-old son, abuse of twin sister
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