Safe Haven Training for Arizona Providers and Community Partners

Need help right now?

If you are pregnant or have a newborn and don’t know what to do, you are not alone, and you are not in trouble. Call our 24/7 Safe Haven crisis line: 1-866-707-2229

Under Arizona’s Safe Haven Law, a parent can hand an unharmed newborn to a firefighter, an EMT, a hospital staff member, or a staff member or volunteer at a participating church or adoption agency — with no questions asked and no criminal liability. Most providers will go an entire career without receiving a Safe Haven baby. The ones who do usually get about ninety seconds’ notice.

This free training prepares your team for those ninety seconds.

Who this training is for

This training is designed for:

  • Hospital staff — labor & delivery, emergency department, nursing, security, registration, and front-desk personnel at general and rural general hospitals
  • Fire departments — on-duty firefighters, company officers, and station personnel
  • EMS agencies — on-duty emergency medical technicians and paramedics
  • Churches and faith communities that have posted public notice as Safe Haven locations
  • Licensed adoption agencies and private child welfare agencies
  • Law enforcement, 911 dispatchers, and school health staff who may field a call or a question
  • Community educators, volunteers, and AZSBH speakers who present on the law
  • Anyone who wants to understand what Arizona’s Safe Haven Law actually requires

There is no cost, no registration requirement, and no prerequisite.

What you will learn

By the end of this training, you will be able to:

  1. State who qualifies as a Safe Haven provider under Arizona law — and confirm whether your organization is one.
  2. Identify a qualifying Safe Haven surrender: an unharmed infant, 30 days old or younger, voluntarily delivered by a parent or the parent’s agent who does not intend to return.
  3. Execute the correct first-hour protocol for your provider type, including who to call and when.
  4. Explain the anonymity protection — and why asking the parent questions is not just discouraged, it’s prohibited.
  5. Describe the civil and criminal immunity that protects both the surrendering parent and the receiving provider.
  6. Meet the signage requirement, including the exact statutory wording and letter height.
  7. Hand off the written referral information the law requires you to offer.
  8. Use trauma-informed language in the moment so the parent leaves safely instead of fleeing.
  9. Recognize the situations that fall outside Safe Haven and become mandatory child-abuse reports.
  10. Train the rest of your shift, station, or congregation using AZSBH materials.

Watch: Arizona Safe Haven Provider Training

Download: Safe Haven Training Presentation

Use this deck to train your own staff, brief a shift, present at a department meeting, or run a continuing-education session. You are welcome to present it as-is; no permission needed.

Quick Reference: The Law at a Glance

A.R.S. § 13-3623.01 (Safe Haven for Newborn Infants) and A.R.S. § 8-528 (Placement Protocol)

30 days old or younger

Unharmed

A parent, or an agent of the parent.

The parent must not express an intent to return for the infant.

Guaranteed. The provider may not require the parent to answer any questions.

A person is not guilty of child abuse under § 13-3623(B) solely for leaving an unharmed newborn with a Safe Haven provider.

No civil or other damages for acts or omissions in maintaining custody, if the provider acts in good faith and without gross negligence.

The provider shall take custody when the criteria are met. This is not optional.

Report to the Arizona Department of Child Safety as soon as practicable. DCS Hotline: 1-888-767-2445.

The provider shall provide written information and refer to organizations.