Baby box installed at EMS building

SANDPOINT — Janine Shepard couldn't help but smile.

After years of work and effort, the county's Safe Haven baby box was being installed Saturday near the front of the Bonner County EMS building.

"We were just feeling like it was a way we could help people," said Shepard , who works as the executive director of local nonprofit Life Choices Pregnancy Center.

The center paid for the box but before it could be installed, Safe Haven and the county needed to reach an agreement and sign a lease service agreement for the device.

The device is designed to allow a parent to safely and anonymously abandon an infant child. The climate-controlled box includes technology that automatically calls 911 and locks the door from the exterior once an infant has been placed inside. Bonner County EMS will respond within five minutes, and the child will be taken to a professional care facility to receive a health evaluation and treatment if needed, Shepard said.

The box is the second in Idaho with the first installed in southern Idaho; they are the only two such devices that Shepard could locate in the Pacific Northwest.

Idaho law requires Safe Haven sites such as hospitals and emergency medical services to take temporary custody of children under 30 days old if a parent delivers the child. The device aims to offer anonymity to a parent in crisis — and provide safety for a youth at risk of being left somewhere where it might be a while before they are discovered.

"I think this will just give the opportunity," Shepard said. "If there are any situations where people don't feel they can parent then they can safely and anonymously surrender their baby."

While Idaho has a safe haven law, which allows parents to hand an infant to law enforcement or medical professionals at local EMS or fire station, police station or hospital without facing charges, Shepard worried that the face-to-face contact of the situation might prevent some from reaching out for help.

Both the device in Sandpoint and the one in southern Idaho were made possible by a 2024 amendment to Idaho's Safe Haven Act, originally adopted by the Idaho Legislature in 2001. The change made it legal for baby boxes to be used as a way to safely and anonymously surrender an infant.

Parents have 30 days to change their minds, with DNA testing done to ensure those reaching out are the parents. Officials also would work with the individuals to ensure they can prove they are fit to raise the child and ensure that both parent and child have the resources they need moving forward.

Nationwide, Shepard said 58 babies have been surrendered using the Safe Haven baby boxes. While she doesn't know if the device will be used in the community, having it ensures the safety of all involved during such a crisis.

The device, located on the west side of the Bonner County EMS building, is both visible but in a spot that offers privacy for those who might want to use the box. Inside, the location is near a stairway that is dedicated to an emergency exit; again, offering security, quiet and minimal conflicts with other activity going on in the building.

"That's why we picked this particular spot," said Levi Bush of Bush Legacy Builders, who volunteered his company to install the device.

Bush and Shepard said the site made the most sense, offering a spot that doesn't conflict with EMS activity or services inside the building while also providing private access and an easily accessible location for anybody who wants to use the box.

Shepard said she appreciates the county's willingness to install the box and Bonner County EMS director Jeff Lindsey's openness to its installation. She also is appreciative of Bush Legacy Builders and Top Notch Electrical, which helped install the county's new baby box.

Levi Bush, owner of Bush Legacy Builders, said he and his sons Wil and Wyatt were happy to sign on for installation of the box when contacted by Shepard .

"We're just excited to be part of something that could change somebody's life," Bush said.