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Role of Law Enforcement, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) & Child Protective Services (CPS)

  • Infants surrendered to the highway patrol, county sheriff’s department, bureau of criminal investigation, city police department, university or college police department should be accepted as any other approved location and transported to the nearest medical facility for examination.
  • Child Protection Services will request local law enforcement to check with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to determine that the infant hasn’t been reported kidnapped or missing.
  • Law enforcement is contacted when determined that the infant has been harmed and an investigation is needed.
  • When an infant is surrendered to Emergency Medical Services operations personnel, it is accepted as with any other approved location.
  • EMS may also be dispatched in response to a call directly from a parent wishing to surrender an infant. EMS should respond discretely and follow the previously mentioned approved location protocols.
  • EMS will also receive calls to transport the infant from other approved locations to a medical facility. In most cases, this will be a non-emergency call for an ambulance.
  • If it appears the infant is injured or may be in distress, a 911 call may be made by another approved location for emergency transport.
  • CPS obtains an emergency custody order from the Juvenile Court to take the infant into legal and physical custody.
  • An assessment is opened by CPS to determine whether the infant is harmed, and medical records are obtained under provisions in state law to make this determination.
      • Once determined that the infant is unharmed, this assessment is closed since no child abuse or neglect has occurred.
      • The assessment only includes the health of the infant. 
      • The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is contacted to assure the infant has not been stolen from a parent.
  • CPS will find a safe place for the infant, which most often is with licensed foster or adoptive parents.
  • At this point, the legal process for terminating the parent’s rights to the infant begins.
      • This process is not immediate and often takes weeks if not months.
  • CPS obtains an anonymous (without parent names) birth certificate with a court order.
  • They continue to monitor the infant’s health and well-being until a finalized adoption.
  • CPS works with any person who self identifies as the infant’s parent to bring the case to resolution.