Installation of Baby Box proposed to city council

An innovation to help improve an anguishing situation was in the spotlight at the meeting of the Rhinelander Common Council Monday, Jan. 26.

Oneida County foster parents Jenna Toms and Nicole Ziolkowski feel passionately that a Safe Haven Baby Box should be installed at the Rhinelander Fire Department. In a presentation prefaced by Rhinelander interim fire chief Adam Johnson, they explained what a Safe Haven Baby Box is and the cost and procedure to bring one to Rhinelander.

All states currently have a Safe Haven law that allows a baby to be surrendered anonymously. In Wisconsin, it can be done with an infant up to 72 hours old. 

“Many women in crisis want to use anonymity when surrendering an infant, either because of fear of being recognized, the stigma associated with the surrender, or fear of prosecution due to the lack of knowledge and misunderstanding of the Safe Haven law,” Toms told the gathering. 

The result, she said, “has historically produced catastrophic and devastating results of babies being abandoned.”

The Safe Haven Baby Box is a way to avoid that, offering what Ziolkowski described as “an anonymous, safe surrender.” 

Usually installed on the exterior wall of a firehouse or hospital, it’s a temperature-controlled medical bassinet with a video monitor, and alerts 911 when its outer door is opened and a baby is placed inside. The outer door then locks automatically, and typically within five minutes first responders will rescue the baby through the box’s inner door, accessible inside the building. 

After the infant is evaluated at a hospital, “at that point Social Services would be involved ... so there’s already a protocol for that,” said Ziolkowski.

According to the presentation, the Safe Haven Baby Box organization began in 2015 after its founder saw a baby box in use in South Africa.

The organization’s Safe Haven Baby Boxes, which are manufactured in Indiana, are a tangible reminder of states’ Safe Haven laws, bettering the chance for infants to be surrendered safely.

Among its several programs, Safe Haven Baby Box also staffs a 24/7 National Crisis Hotline, 1-866-99BABY1.  

Why Rhinelander as a possible site? “Our county has historically had a number of surrenders face to face, and this would just give us another option for people in crisis,” Ziolkowski explained. 

“Our first step is to meet with community leaders, which we have, and now we’re seeking your approval. We have the contract being reviewed between the fire station and the city and Safe Haven Baby Box. And after that, we'll be able to begin fundraising.”

Ziolkowski emphasized that they aren’t seeking funding. “We plan on organizing fundraising efforts to cover 100 percent of the cost of the box, the installation, and continual maintenance.” With an initial fee of $16,500, and an annual fee of $500 that goes to maintaining the box, she said, “our goal is to beef up the fund so that we have about $30,000.” 

Mayor Kris Hanus verified with her that there would be no cost to the city or taxpayers. 

Upon learning that the nearest Safe Haven Baby Box is in Howard, near Green Bay, Hanus pointed out, “That’s key for two reasons. One is, we’re filling a need that’s not close to us; we’re talking a couple-hundred-mile radius. And two, our chief fire administration could reach out to those communities and kind of see what good and bad, or potentially bad, could have happened there as far as contracts, as far as liability, that kind of stuff.”

What is currently the location of a training room, just to the left of the fire department’s front door, is being eyed as a place for the proposed Safe Haven Baby Box. 

“That’s one of the reasons why I requested this be brought to council,” said Johnson, “because there would have to be some alterations that are done to a city building ... but right in front it’s well lit, PD’s right next door, and it would suit that need quite well.”

Hanus spelled out what comes next. 

“At some point we’re going to have a final contract,” he said. “At that point, that would come back to this body to then be discussed and voted on.”

Council president Carrie Mikalauski gave Toms and Ziolkowski special thanks for the presentation.

“I work for Oneida County Human Services so I’m on the receiving end of these Safe Haven babies ... I just give my full support with this program,” she said.

“I don’t know the exact number, but I can think of three just last year, so this is really a need in our region,” Mikalauski added. 

“And it’s not just for Rhinelander; this would affect the surrounding communities, too, because it’s a place that they would know to go to relinquish their babies ... it would be a place for all of the surrounding, less rural counties around us.”

Ardith Carlton may be reached at [email protected].