Report 2007-124 Recommendation 2 Responses
Report 2007-124: Safely Surrendered Baby Law: Stronger Guidance From the State and Better Information for the Public Could Enhance Its Impact (Release Date: April 2008)
Recommendation #2 To: Social Services, Department of
To support future efforts related to the safe-surrender law, including continuing outreach and improving the quality of the State's statistics, Social Services should consider using a portion of existing funds, such as those available in its trust fund, and should consider renewing its partnership with First 5 California, which Social Services can legally use for such efforts.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From January 2011
Social Services used existing resources to fund a statewide hotline number providing callers with information about the location of safe surrender sites in their area. We are collecting data on the number of callers, the areas in which they reside, etc. We have also updated our outreach materials to display the new toll free number. In addition, AB 1983 was signed into law on September 30, 2010, which creates a new fund using tax check off donations that can be used for outreach and educational materials related to safely surrendered babies. Social Services released All County Information Notice (ACIN) number I-19-10 introducing the statewide hotline on March 29, 2010. Also, ACIN I-88-10 was released on November 2, 2010. This letter clarifies the definition of a safe surrender and provides safe surrender intake procedures, including situations in which babies are born and surrendered in a hospital and situations that require clarity between safe surrender and relinquishment for adoption. The letter also addresses SSB confidentiality issues by reiterating confidentiality protocols at intake and during data entry into CWS/CMS. Further, the letter corrects erroneous instructions from ACIN I-16-04 regarding waiver of confidentiality for the surrendering individual. Last, the letter issues an updated form: the Safely Surrendered Baby Medical Questionnaire (new Social Services form SOC 861) for use by safe surrender site staff in order to improve availability of medical information that may be vital to the health of a surrendered child. (2010-041, p. 54)
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented
All Recommendations in 2007-124
Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.