SENATOR MAHER LEADS SENATE PASSAGE TO GAIN BETTER KNOWLEDGE OF VOLUNTARY SURRENDER OF INFANTS
Today, State Senator Ceci Maher (D-Wilton), Senate Chair of the Committee on Children, led the Senate’s passage of legislation that would provide better knowledge regarding how Connecticut monitors voluntary surrender of infants.
Connecticut first passed its child surrender laws in 2000, allowing a parent to surrender a child at a hospital with no questions asked, and most recently updated them in 2018. Under Senate Bill 156, the state will develop a task force to monitor the current standards in the state for Safe Surrender, policies and procedures to ensure infants receive care and elements of hospital surrenders, including disparities in access to care or support for parents in crisis.
“It’s been more than a quarter of a century since Connecticut put child surrender laws in place. While we see very low numbers of surrendered infants and newborns in our state, each of those children needs the best protection and support possible,” said Sen. Maher. “Through this task force, we will review the bill through the lens of cultural competency to determine how we can better connect parents in need with resources that may prevent them from surrendering their children, as well as review new opportunities that could better ensure the safety and security of our current systems.”
This legislation received strong support from advocates including Acting Child Advocate Christina Ghio, the Connecticut Hospital Association and Dr. John Brancato, division head of emergency medicine at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.
Ghio noted the state’s “safe haven” law allows parents to leave a newborn up to 30 days old in the care of a hospital employee anonymously. She reflected that this study can allow for more data, including information on parents who may have sought to surrender a child but were connected to resources aiding them.
The Connecticut Hospital Association welcomed an opportunity to review longstanding policies and noted at least 59 newborns have been surrendered in the last 25 years. It reflected on the need to ensure “warm handoffs,” meaning a child can go directly into hospital care, and said the data can deliver better standards for safety, clinical oversight and compassionate care.
Brancato said this task force offers opportunities to better review medical support and desires recommendations that are feasible and sensitive to the issue’s complex circumstances.
Following today’s 36-0 vote, the bill next heads to the House.
