Infant in Spartanburg County Surrendered Under Safe Haven Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Danielle Jones
803-898-7602
publicinfo@dss.sc.gov

Infant in Spartanburg County Surrendered Under Safe Haven Act

February 23, 2023 - Officials with Spartanburg Regional Medical Center recently accepted an infant surrendered under Daniel's Law, the Safe Haven for Abandoned Babies Act, on Monday, February 20, 2020.  The SC Safe Haven for Abandoned Babies Act provides a safe, legal option to surrender infants up to 60 days old, who have not been harmed, at designated locations.

The African American/Caucasian male was born on February 19, 2023 and weighed seven pounds, 10 ounces and was 20.87 inches long at the time of birth.

The infant was safely surrendered at the Spartanburg Regional Medical Center in Spartanburg. Under the Safe Haven for Abandoned Babies Act, Spartanburg County DSS took custody of the newborn upon discharge from the hospital, and the infant has been placed in a licensed foster home.

A permanency planning hearing will be held on April 3, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. at the Spartanburg County Family Court located at 180 Magnolia Street in Spartanburg. For more information on the hearing, please contact the Spartanburg County Family Court at (864) 596-2588 or the Spartanburg County DSS office at (864) 596-3001.

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Editor’s note: The Department of Social Services has made a dedicated page on the agency’s website regarding Daniel’s Law in South Carolina with current data. This is the second Daniel’s Law baby surrendered in South Carolina during the 2023 calendar year.

A safe abandonment such as this is a perfect time to remind the public that the SC Safe Haven for Abandoned Babies Act provides a safe, legal option to surrender babies up to 60 days old as long as the infant has not been harmed in any way. For more information about the Safe Haven Act, known as Daniel’s Law, please click here. For a listing of crisis pregnancy organizations, please see this brochure.