Infant Safely Surrendered in Florence County Under Safe Haven Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: DSS Office of Communications and External Affairs
803-898-7602
publicinfo@dss.sc.gov

Infant Safely Surrendered in Florence County Under Safe Haven Act

September 9, 2026- Officials at McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence County recently accepted an infant safely surrendered under Daniel’s Law, the state’s Safe Haven for Abandoned Babies Act, on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.

The African American baby boy was born on September 7, 2026, and weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces, and was 21 inches long at the time of birth.

The infant was safely surrendered at McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence County. Under the Safe Haven for Abandoned Babies Act, a medical evaluation was completed, and the infant has been placed in a licensed DSS foster home.

A Permanency Planning Hearing and Termination of Parental Rights Hearing will be held on November 10th at 2:00 p.m. at the Florence County Family Court, located at 180 North Irby Street, Florence, S.C.  Persons who believe they have parental rights to this child are required to attend the hearing to assert those rights.

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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 tenth Daniel’s Law baby surrendered in South Carolina during the 2026 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 an infant up to 60 days old. For more information about the Safe Haven Act, known as Daniel’s Law in South Carolina, please click here. For a listing of crisis pregnancy organizations, please see this brochure.

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