Infant Safely Surrendered in Richland 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 Richland County Under Safe Haven Act

May 23, 2025- Officials with Prisma Health- Richland Hospital in Richland County recently accepted an infant safely surrendered under Daniel’s Law, the state’s Safe Haven for Abandoned Babies Act, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.

The African American baby boy was born on April 7, 2025, and weighed 10 pounds, 8.7 ounces and was 20.67 inches long at the time of surrender.

The infant was safely surrendered at Prisma Health-Richland Hospital in Richland County. Under the Safe Haven for Abandoned Babies Act, Richland County DSS took custody of the child, and the infant has been placed in a licensed foster home. 

A Permanency Planning Hearing and Termination of Parental Rights Hearing will be held on July 16, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. at the Richland County Family Court at 1701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201.

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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 2025 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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