A Safe Haven Baby Box is still in the works for Starke County.
Last summer California Township Trustee Sheri Bartoli asked the Starke County Commissioners to fund a Safe Haven Baby Box for Starke County. She stated the nearest baby box was located in Plymouth and believed having one in Starke County would be a great asset to the community. Bartoli explained a baby box is something where young mothers as a last resort would give up their babies instead of abandoning them. She stated a baby box is usually placed at hospitals or fire stations where an alarm is triggered, notifying 911 once the box has been closed.
In that same meeting, the commissioners discussed briefly on who would be liable for the baby once they have been placed in the box. The following meeting, Bartoli stated after further research she found out the liability of the child resides with Safe Haven once the box is closed. She added the box must be within one mile of a hospital.
During a following commissioner meeting, Bartoli stated she had since teamed up with the Founder and CEO of Bella Vita, Rebecca Bailey on the project. It was mentioned the cost of the baby box is $15,000 with a yearly rental fee of $500. Bartoli stated that Bailey was able to find an anonymous donor willing to pay the $15,000 and a contractor willing to install the baby box for free. She went on to say if approved the county would be able to then apply for a Department of Homeland Security grant that would award them $10,000 for purchasing and installing the baby box. It was noted this grant once received would then go toward the yearly rental fee of $500.
Bartoli stated after payment is received, delivery will take four to six weeks with the installation beginning two weeks after arrival. Once the purchase has been made, the county has 60 days to install it, test it, train EMS personnel and schedule the unveiling in order to be considered for the grant from the Department of Homeland Security. With the time line set, she added the box has to be installed by June 30 of this year. The commissioners approved the placement of a Safe Haven Baby Box at the Knox EMS Base unanimously during that meeting.
In a follow up interview, Starke County Auditor Rachel Oesterreich told WKVI News the baby box has not been installed yet and that preparations for the installation by June 30 still needs to be done.
