Jefferson City Considers Baby Shelter

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City officials are considering purchasing a device that would allow people to safely drop off their infants instead of abandoning them.

The Jefferson City Public Safety Committee discussed installing a baby drop box at its meeting Thursday. The discussion comes just weeks after a baby was found in a plastic bag behind a Marines County shed earlier this month.

The baby safe reportedly comes from an Indiana-based company called Safe Haven Baby Boxes. They have baby boxes in 16 states. If approved, the one in the capital would be the second baby box installed in Missouri.

Missouri’s first baby box was completed in August of last year in Mehlville. Their first baby was born six months after it was completed.

“We tailor our fire district to the needs of our community,” said Brian Hendricks, Mehlville Fire District Chief. “And we saw a trend across the country, as well as in the state of Missouri, that women in crisis really had no choice when faced with such a difficult decision to make.”

“You know, we’ve had safe haven laws in the state of Missouri for a long time, and we’ve found that women in crisis aren’t going to abandon their babies at the hospital, the police station or even the fire station. So we thought this gave women another option when they’re faced with such a tragic decision.”

The Jefferson City Public Safety Committee has asked the city attorney and public safety staff to talk to Safe Haven Baby Box about bringing one to Mid-Missouri and the discussion will continue at the next meeting in October.