The City of Carlsbad will soon become the third community in New Mexico with an operational Safe Haven Baby Box.
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway announced Tuesday morning that the box is being installed at the Carlsbad Fire Department and is expected to be operational beginning Saturday, Oct. 21, following necessary training.
“Thank you to everyone with the City of Carlsbad and State of New Mexico who helped with the funding and installation of this Baby Box,” Janway said. “Additionally, thank you to Monica Kelsey and everyone with Safe Haven Baby Boxes for turning this vision into a reality and providing a safe way of helping innocent children.”
Carlsbad joins Hobbs and Espanola as the New Mexico cities in which Safe Haven Baby Boxes are currently available. Roswell announced plans to install a box at its Central Fire Station in April, and the Associated Press reported last month that a box will also be installed in Belen.
The need for such options became apparent in January 2022, when Hobbs teen Alexis Avila was arrested for throwing her newborn son into a dumpster behind a shopping center. She was sentenced in May to 16 years in prison on charges of child abuse resulting in great bodily harm.
That child survived after being found by dumpster divers six hours later, but on Jan. 27 of this year, 19-year-old Alexee Trevizo’s newborn son was found dead after she gave birth in an Artesia General Hospital bathroom, tied the infant in a trash bag, and placed him in the trash can. Trevizo was formally charged May 10 with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence and is scheduled for jury trial on Aug. 26, 2024, before Judge Jane Shuler-Gray in Fifth Judicial District Court.
Then, on Sept. 13, Hobbs police were dispatched to Covenant Health Hobbs Hospital after an infant was found dead in the bathroom of a room that had been occupied by a 16-year-old girl, accompanied by her mother. The juvenile had already been discharged from the hospital when the discovery was made.
The baby’s body was taken to the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque for autopsy, and no further information on that incident has since been released.
Ten days later, the string of tragedies was finally broken when a healthy baby boy was left in the Safe Haven box in Hobbs. The climate-controlled incubator functioned as intended, alerting personnel at Fire Station 1, who immediately took the baby to a local hospital, where he was evaluated before being turned over to the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD).
The Artesia Police Department confirmed in June that preliminary discussions were underway between Police Chief Kirk Roberts, Fire Chief Kevin Hope and city leaders regarding the potential installation of a Safe Haven box in Artesia. The department said Tuesday that the matter remains in the discussion phase.
Janway says a short ceremony is planned for Oct. 21 to dedicate Carlsbad’s baby box and noted that the Safe Haven program also offers 24-hour counseling and assistance to mothers in crisis. That crisis help can be accessed by calling or texting 1-866-99BABY1 (1-866-9922291).
“The Safe Haven box is a last resort, but it is important and may save a life,” said Janway.
For communities as yet without a Safe Haven box, it is critical to note that New Mexico’s Safe Haven for Infants Act allows individuals to bring infants up to 90 days old to any Safe Haven site without fear of criminal charges. Staff must be present at the location at the time of surrender and notified that an infant is being left; infants cannot be left alone.
Safe Haven sites in Artesia include Artesia General Hospital; the Artesia Police Department and Artesia Fire Department at the Public Safety Complex, 3300 W. Main St.; and Artesia Fire Department Station 2 at Seventh Street and Mahone Drive.
Staff may request basic information about the parent and child in order to aid CYFD in appropriate placement, but providing information is not required. The Act also allows rights and reunification procedures for biological parents in the event a parent changes their mind about surrendering the child.