Information for designated Safe Baby Sites
The "Baby Moses Law" is the common name of a law authorizing a designated
emergency infant care provider to take possession of a child appearing to be 60 days old
or younger from the child's parent, if the parent does not express intent to return for the
child. You can find this law in the Texas Family Code, Chapter 262, SubChapter D.
Emergency Possession of Certain Abandoned Children.
What are the purposes of this law?
One purpose of the law is to encourage parents who abandon their children to do so with a designated
emergency infant care provider rather than at a dangerous location. The law also protects parents
from criminal prosecution when they deliver an unharmed child to a designated emergency infant
care provider.
How does the law work?
Any parent may voluntarily deliver a child 60 days old or younger to a designated emergency infant
care provider when the parent does not express intent to return for the child.
What is a designated emergency infant care provider?
Under House Bill 706, which went into effect on September 1, 2001, a child-placing agency (CPA)
licensed by the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (TDPRS) can be a designated emergency infant care provider if the CPA:
• Agrees to act as a designated emergency infant care provider; and
• Has on staff a person who is licensed as a registered nurse under Chapter 301, Occupations Code,
or who provides emergency medical services under Chapter 773, Health and Safety Code, and who
will examine and provide emergency medical services to a child taken into possession by the
agency.
What are the responsibilities of a designated CPA emergency infant
care provider?
A designated CPA emergency infant care provider must post a notice in
a prominent location that:
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The CPA is a designated emergency infant care provider; and
It will accept children 60 days old or younger who are voluntarily delivered by the child's parent, if the parent does not express an
intent to return for the child;
Use prudent judgment to protect the physical health and safety of the
child until a CPA takes possession of the child;
Assess the child for injury or illness;
Immediately contact your registered nurse or person who provides
emergency medical services to evaluate the medical needs of the
child;
Follow through with recommendations for medical treatment;
Notify the designated CPA of the possession of the child no later than the close of the first business
day after the date the provider takes possession of the child; and
Provide the child's medical history or any other pertinent information to the CPA.
What do the responsibilities of a designated CPA emergency infant care provider not include?
A designated CPA emergency infant care provider has no legal duty to:
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Detain or pursue the parent and may not do so unless the child appears to have been abused or
neglected; and
Determine the parent's identity. However, the provider may give the parent a form for voluntary
disclosure of the child's medical facts and history.
For more information...