Division of Public Health, Safe Arms for Babies

Safe Arms for Babies is a law that allows for the surrender of a newborn (14 days old or younger) to emergency department staff in any Delaware hospital emergency department. Under this law the person surrendering the baby will not be subject to criminal prosecution for Child Abuse or Neglect provided the baby is alive, unharmed and brought into a hospital emergency department; the person will not be asked for identification, will not be asked who they are, will not have their identity revealed and will not be contacted. Emergency department staff will attempt to gather family medical history. The baby and person surrendering will be given a baby identification number for possible future reunification. The person has 30 days from date of surrender to start reunification, after that time the process will begin to sever all parental rights.