HOBBS — A second infant was safely surrendered to Hobbs’ Safe Haven Baby Box late last month.

The City of Hobbs reported that, during the week of May 20, a healthy newborn boy was placed in the Baby Box at Hobbs Fire Department’s Station 1. The child marks the second released to Hobbs’ Baby Box since its installation in May 2023. The first infant was surrendered in September 2023.

The newborn was transported to Covenant Health Hobbs Hospital for evaluation before being turned over to the Children, Youth and Families Department.

“This Safe Haven Baby Box is about the safety and future of the child,” the City of Hobbs said in a release. “The responsibility of a parent is waived without judgment or punishment to preserve the child’s health and well-being. The baby box at Fire Station 1 is an environmentally controlled incubator device designed to keep an infant in a secure and safe environment with sufficient oxygen, a comfortable temperature, and equipped with a transparent door and safety alarm to immediately notify the operator(s) that an infant has been placed in the device.”

There are currently seven Safe Haven Baby Boxes in New Mexico, also including Carlsbad, Roswell, Alamogordo, Belen, Espanola and Farmington. In March, the Pregnancy Help Center of Artesia and City of Artesia officials announced that plans were in the works to install a Baby Box at Artesia General Hospital.

The public is reminded that, under the New Mexico Safe Haven for Infants Act, babies up to 90 days old can also be taken to Safe Haven sites — which include hospitals, police departments and fire departments — for surrender without fear of criminal charges. Unlike Baby Boxes, however, infants taken to these sites must be left with a person rather than dropped off. Basic health information may be requested but does not have to be provided.