Infant in Richland County Surrendered Safely Under Safe Haven Act

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

Infant in Richland County Surrendered Safely Under Safe Haven Act

January 12, 2023 - Officials with Prisma Health Richland Hospital recently accepted an infant surrendered under Daniel's Law, the Safe Haven for Abandoned Babies Act, on Monday, January 9, 2023.  The SC Safe Haven for Abandoned Babies Act Provides a safe, legal option for the abandonment of babies up to 60 days old who have not been harmed.

The African American female was born on January 8th, 2023 and weighed seven pounds and was 20 inches long at the time of birth.

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

A permanency planning hearing will be held on February 15, 2023 at 9:30am at the Richland County Family Court located at 1701 Main Street, 3^rd Floor in Columbia. For more information on the hearing, please contact the Richland County Family Court at (803) 576-3320 or the Richland County DSS office at (803) 714-7300. 

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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 first Daniel’s Law babies 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 for the abandonment of babies up to 60 days old. 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.