OLR Bill Analysis

SB 818 (File 56, as amended by Senate “A”)*

AN ACT CONCERNING THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN SAFE HAVENS CASES.

SUMMARY:

This bill makes changes in the law governing the Department of Children and Families' (DCF) Safe Havens program, which allows parents or their lawful agents to lawfully surrender newborn infants. By law, DCF must take any action the law authorizes to achieve safety and permanency for the infant. The bill specifies that this includes (1) instituting legal proceedings for guardianship or terminating parental rights and (2) notifying the infant's parents of these proceedings when DCF knows their identity.

The bill establishes the conditions under which mothers who give birth in the hospital and wish to voluntarily surrender custody of the infant may do so.

The bill changes the way information about the parent, an agent, or the infant is disclosed. Currently, this information is confidential, except that the employee with whom the child is left must provide the DCF commissioner with any medical information that the parent has provided. The bill also requires the employee to report information to the Department of Public Health (DPH).

Finally, the bill makes it clear that these infants have been voluntarily surrendered to, and not left with, hospital employees.

*Senate Amendment “A” adds the provisions concerning births occurring in the hospital, reporting to DPH, and clarifying that these infants are voluntarily surrendered to hospital employees. It removes a provision that loosened the prohibition against disclosures of information by the employees.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2009

WHEN BABIES BORN IN HOSPITAL

The bill explicitly provides that if a mother who gives birth in a hospital wishes to voluntarily surrender physical custody of the infant under the Safe Havens law, she must take the infant to the designated place in the hospital emergency room once the hospital has released her and the infant. State law prohibits a mother's consent to terminate parental rights from being executed within 48 hours of the baby's birth ((CGS § 45a-715(d)).

INFORMATION FOR DPH

Under current law, when babies are surrendered to a designated hospital employee, any information concerning the person surrendering it is confidential. But the employee must provide to the DCF commissioner all medical history information that the parent has provided the employee.

The bill also requires the employee to provide DPH with the infant's name and date of birth, if the birth was registered in the state vital records system before the infant was surrendered, for the sole purpose of sealing the infant's original birth record. This information cannot be disclosed on the report of foundling children that agencies or institutions must provide to the registrar of vital statistics in the town where the child is found. By law, these entities must report the date and place where the child is born, the gender, race, approximate age, the entity's address, and the name given to the foundling child.

BACKGROUND

Safe Havens Law

The law requires any hospital operating an emergency room (ER) to designate a space in the ER and all of the ER nursing staff as authorized to take physical custody of infants 30 days old or younger whose parent or lawful agent voluntarily surrenders physical custody, unless the parent or agent clearly expresses an intent to return. These nurses can request the parent's or agent's name along with any medical history of the infant or his or her parents. The nurses have 24 hours to notify DCF, which, by law, assumes immediate care and control of the infant.

Parents or agents can ask to be reunited with the child and DCF must contact and investigate the parent or agent when this occurs to determine whether to allow reunification or move to terminate parental rights.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Human Services Committee

Joint Favorable

Government Administration and Elections Committee

Joint Favorable

Public Health Committee

Joint Favorable