Last Thursday, Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law that expands Iowa’s role as a “Safe Haven” state.

Senate File 360 didn’t make it through the funnel process in 2017, but State Senator Jake Chapman (R – District 10) says the Legislature thought it was important enough to bring back this session. “Iowa is currently a ‘Safe Haven’ state, in which a parent can relinquish custody of a newborn child up to the age of 14 days. I had a bill last year that we passed out of the Senate, and fortunately the House took that bill up this year, passed it, and it has now been signed into law, which puts Iowa really as a frontrunner for what we can do with safe havens.”

The law increases the age a parent can relinquish custody, from 14 days to 30 days. It also adds first responders to the list of people newborns can be given to. Chapman believes that inclusion will allow people who live in rural areas far away from a safe haven site to take advantage of the service. The bill was approved unanimously in the Iowa House and Senate before being signed by the Governor.

To learn more about the current legislative session, listen to Monday’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.