Florida’s First Safe Haven Baby Girl Adopted by Her Rescuer Six Months Later

Zoey’s adoptive mother expressed gratitude toward her daughter’s biological mom for choosing to use the Safe Haven Baby Box. Safe Haven laws allow parents to surrender a newborn without fear of prosecution.

“I think what she did is very respectable,” Zoey’s adoptive mother said.

“We really wanted to find a way to let the birth mom know that her baby is safe, happy, and deeply loved,” she added.

Zoey’s adoptive father was on duty at Ocala Fire Rescue Station 1 when the alarm for the climate-controlled Safe Haven box sounded.

When he opened the compartment, he found Zoey inside, with her umbilical cord tied off with a shoelace.

He quickly took her to the hospital and immediately spoke with his wife to start the adoption process.

The couple stayed with Zoey at the hospital, patiently waiting for the official approval to formally add her to their family.

“It didn’t feel real until I got the call that I could be with her in the NICU,” the adoptive mother told WKMG.

After trying to grow their family for nearly a decade, the couple said Zoey was an incredible blessing.

“Honestly, everyone was in disbelief that she was almost hand-delivered to us and that everything fell into place so we could bring her home just two days later,” Zoey’s adoptive mom said.

The ‘baby box’ at Ocala Fire Rescue Station 1 in Florida enables parents to safely surrender a newborn without fear of prosecution.

Zoey was officially adopted by the rescuer and his wife in April.

The box in Ocala is one of 134 Safe Haven Baby Boxes across the U.S. and has been used more than two dozen times since its launch in 2017.

In an interview with NPR earlier this year, Monica Kelsey said she always expected someone in Florida would need to use the box, which offers a safe way to surrender a child.

“When we launched this box in Florida, I knew it wasn’t a question of if, but when,” Kelsey told NPR. “This doesn’t come as a surprise.”

Speaking with WKMG, she expressed satisfaction seeing the boxes making a real difference.

“I never saw myself as someone who would change lives; I just wanted to place a few boxes in Indiana to save the two babies we were finding deceased each year,” Kelsey said.

She also mentioned plans to install a second box near Gainesville.

Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn (left) and Safe Haven Baby Boxes CEO Monica Kelsey (right).

Kelsey was inspired to start the Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization after seeing a similar box in South Africa.

According to her website, Kelsey was inspired to start the organization after seeing a similar baby box in South Africa.

“The process, the procedure worked,” said Ocala Fire Chief Clint Welborn.

Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn also spoke at a January press conference, encouraging other cities to install the boxes in hospitals or fire stations.

“I’d recommend mayors and city councils across Florida to take the initiative, just like we did,” he said.