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Who Calls the National Safe Haven Alliance Hotline? Evaluating One Element of Policy Implementation

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Abstract

Safe haven laws allow one to safely and legally relinquish an infant at a designated location. In this paper, we examine one key policy implementer of safe haven laws, calls to a national hotline. Using 2018–2019 call data from the National Safe Haven Alliance hotline, we present information about the callers, why they call, what actions are taken, and the outcomes. Of the 388 callers and 453 reasons that they called, we found that 56.5% wanted general information about safe havens, 13.7% want information about adoption, and 9.3% want instructions on how to relinquish an infant. Callers are connected to other resources 69.2% of the time and 18.1% are given instructions on how to relinquish an infant. Helpline staff are expected to have a broad array of knowledge regarding pregnancy, parenting, and other options. Findings are compared with research on other crisis hotlines. The discussion includes considerations for policy practice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work & Child Advocacy, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, 07043, USA

    Emily M. Douglas & Marguerite M. Ammerman

  2. Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA

    Lena Sophia Thompson

  3. National Safe Haven Alliance, Glendale, AZ, USA

    Heather Burner

Authors
  1. Emily M. Douglas
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  2. Marguerite M. Ammerman
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  3. Lena Sophia Thompson
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  4. Heather Burner
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Correspondence to Emily M. Douglas.

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We would like to thank Shannon Brown for her assistance in coding the data.

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Douglas, E.M., Ammerman, M.M., Thompson, L.S. et al. Who Calls the National Safe Haven Alliance Hotline? Evaluating One Element of Policy Implementation. J of Pol Practice & Research 2, 270–284 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42972-021-00039-w

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