AgdaPkt 2005-01-24 - Laserfiche WebLink

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FAST FACTS 5, '3t3~ \4 - ,. , ..' '. - , ". '" ,"" ' . , .,' '. . ., ~.' ", ',~! , , , . , " .' ,- - , , , , , '-': - " ¡ January 2003 . The Safely Surrendered Baby (SSB) law was signed into law by Governor Davis on September 2000 and went into effect on January 1, 2001. The purpòse of the SSB law is to allow a mother or person with lawful custody to bring an unwanted baby three days old or younger to a hospital without prosecution for child abandonment. No names are required. .. ~ The law allows for at least 14-days during which the mother may change her mind and reclaim her baby. Babies who are safely surrendered at a hospital are given medical treatment and placed in a foster home or pre-adoptive home. ~ + Since the law went into effect. 16 babies have been safely surrendered in California as of December 2002. + There is no profile of women most likely to abandon their infants. The cases of abandonment show women of all socia-economic groups, ages, race and ethnicity, and educational attainment levels. The target audience for this campaign is females 14 to 38 years of age. Forty-one other states have passed "safe haven" laws. However, most of those states did not earmark funds for a public awareness campaign and are not engaged in any direct outreach to the target audience. ,~ 1\1- California selected the campaign used by the State of New Jersey cafled "No Shame, No Blame, No Names." California chose this campaign because of its comprehensive approach and non-judgmental message. The initial campaign uses $500,000 from the California Department of Social Services' Child Abuse Prevention program, which has a budget of $19.9 million. . 1/, The second phase of the campaign will be expanded to include television and wifl be funded with a $1 million grant from "First Five, "formerly the California Commission on Children and Families.