Date of enactment: December 6, 2023
2023 Senate Bill 369 Date of publication*: December 7, 2023
2023 WISCONSIN ACT 79
AN ACT to renumber and amend 48.195 (1); to amend 48.13 (2m), 48.195 (2) (a), 48.195 (2) (b), 48.195 (2) (c),
48.195 (2) (d) (intro.), 48.195 (3) (a), 48.195 (4) (a), 48.195 (4) (b), 48.195 (5), 48.195 (6), 48.355 (2d) (b) 5., 48.415
(1m), 48.43 (7) (b) and 48.485 (2); and to create 48.195 (1b), 48.195 (1m) (a) 2. and 48.195 (1r) of the statutes; relat-
ing to: newborn infant safety devices under the safe haven law.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in
senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 48.13 (2m) of the statutes is amended to
read:
48.13 (2m) The child’s parent has relinquished cus-
tody of the child under s. 48.195 (1) (1m).
SECTION 2. 48.195 (1) of the statutes is renumbered
48.195 (1m) (a) (intro.) and amended to read:
48.195 (1m) (a) (intro.) In addition to being taken
into custody under s. 48.19, a child whom a law enforce-
ment officer, emergency medical services practitioner, as
defined in s. 256.01 (5), or hospital staff member reason-
ably believes to be 72 hours old or younger may be taken
into custody under circumstances in which a parent of the
child relinquishes custody of the child to by any of the
following methods and does not express an intent to
return for the child:
1. By delivering the child to the law enforcement offi-
cer, emergency medical services practitioner, or hospital
staff member and does not express an intent to return for
the child.
(b) If a parent who wishes to relinquish custody of his
or her child under this subsection is unable to travel to a
sheriff’s office, police station, fire station, hospital, or
other place where a law enforcement officer, emergency
medical services practitioner, or hospital staff member is
located, the parent may dial the telephone number “911”
or, in an area in which the telephone number “911” is not
available, the number for an emergency medical service
provider, and the person receiving the call shall dispatch
a law enforcement officer or emergency medical services
practitioner to meet the parent and take the child into cus-
tody.
(c) A law enforcement officer, emergency medical
services practitioner, or hospital staff member who takes
a child into custody under this subsection shall take any
action necessary to protect the health and safety of the
child, shall, within 24 hours after taking the child into
custody, deliver the child to the intake worker under s.
48.20, and shall, within 5 days after taking the child into
custody, file a birth record for the child under s. 69.14 (3).
SECTION 3. 48.195 (1b) of the statutes is created to
read:
48.195 (1b) DEFINITIONS. In this section:
(a) “Emergency medical services practitioner” has
the meaning given in s. 256.01 (5).
(b) “Newborn infant safety device” means a device
that is installed in a supporting wall of a hospital, fire sta-
tion, or law enforcement agency and that has an exterior
point of access allowing an individual to place a newborn
* Section 991.11, WISCONSIN STATUTES: Effective date of acts. “Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor’s
partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication.” − 2 −2023 Wisconsin Act 79 2023 Senate Bill 369
infant inside and an interior point of access allowing indi-
viduals inside the building to safely retrieve the newborn
infant.
SECTION 4. 48.195 (1m) (a) 2. of the statutes is cre-
ated to read:
48.195 (1m) (a) 2. By leaving the child in a newborn
infant safety device installed as provided under sub. (1r).
SECTION 5. 48.195 (1r) of the statutes is created to
read:
48.195 (1r) NEWBORN INFANT SAFETY DEVICE. (a) A
hospital, fire station, or law enforcement agency may
install a newborn infant safety device if all of the follow-
ing criteria are met:
1. The hospital or law enforcement agency building
is staffed 24 hours per day and the fire station is staffed
24 hours per day with an emergency medical services
practitioner.
2. The device is physically part of the hospital, fire
station, or law enforcement agency building.
3. The device is temperature controlled and venti-
lated for the safety of newborns.
4. The device is equipped with a dual alarm system
connected to the physical location of the device that auto-
matically triggers an alarm inside the building when a
newborn infant is placed in the device.
5. The device is equipped with a surveillance system
that allows employees of the hospital, fire station, or law
enforcement agency to monitor the inside of the device
24 hours per day.
6. The device is located such that the interior point of
access is in an area that is conspicuous and visible to the
employees of the hospital, fire station, or law enforce-
ment agency.
(b) A hospital, fire station, or law enforcement
agency that uses a newborn infant safety device to accept
surrendered newborn infants shall use the surveillance
system under par. (a) 5. to monitor the inside of the device
24 hours per day, physically check the device at least
twice daily, and test the device at least weekly to ensure
that the alarm system is in working order.
SECTION 6. 48.195 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended
to read:
48.195 (2) (a) Except as provided in this paragraph,
a parent who relinquishes custody of a child under sub.
(1) (1m) and any person who assists the parent in that
relinquishment have the right to remain anonymous. The
exercise of that right shall not affect the manner in which
a law enforcement officer, emergency medical services
practitioner, as defined in s. 256.01 (5), or hospital staff
member performs his or her duties under this section. No
person may induce or coerce or attempt to induce or
coerce a parent or person assisting a parent who wishes
to remain anonymous into revealing his or her identity,
unless the person has reasonable cause to suspect that the
child has been the victim of abuse or neglect or that the
person assisting the parent is coercing the parent into
relinquishing custody of the child.
SECTION 7. 48.195 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended
to read:
48.195 (2) (b) A parent who relinquishes custody of
a child under sub. (1) (1m) (a) 1. and any person who
assists the parent in that relinquishment may leave the
presence of the law enforcement officer, emergency
medical services practitioner, as defined in s. 256.01 (5),
or hospital staff member who took custody of the child at
any time, and no. A parent who relinquishes custody of
a child under sub. (1m) (a) 2. and any person who assists
the parent in that relinquishment may leave the premises
of the hospital, fire station, or law enforcement agency at
any time. No person may follow or pursue the parent or
person assisting the parent, unless the person has reason-
able cause to suspect that the child has been the victim of
abuse or neglect or that the person assisting the parent has
coerced the parent into relinquishing custody of the child.
SECTION 8. 48.195 (2) (c) of the statutes is amended
to read:
48.195 (2) (c) No officer, employee, or agent of this
state or of a political subdivision of this state may attempt
to locate or ascertain the identity of a parent who relin-
quishes custody of a child under sub. (1) (1m) or any per-
son who assists the parent in that relinquishment, unless
the officer, employee, or agent has reasonable cause to
suspect that the child has been the victim of abuse or
neglect or that the person assisting the parent has coerced
the parent into relinquishing custody of the child.
SECTION 9. 48.195 (2) (d) (intro.) of the statutes is
amended to read:
48.195 (2) (d) (intro.) Any person who obtains any
information relating to the relinquishment of a child
under sub. (1) (1m) shall keep that information confiden-
tial and may not disclose that information, except to the
following persons:
SECTION 10. 48.195 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended
to read:
48.195 (3) (a) Subject to par. (b), a law enforcement
officer, emergency medical services practitioner, as
defined in s. 256.01 (5), or hospital staff member who
takes a child into custody under sub. (1) (1m) (a) 1. shall
make available to the parent who relinquishes custody of
the child the maternal and child health toll−free telephone
number maintained by the department under 42 USC 705
(a) (5) (E).
SECTION 11. 48.195 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended
to read:
48.195 (4) (a) Any parent who relinquishes custody
of his or her child under sub. (1) (1m) and any person who
assists the parent in that relinquishment are immune from
any civil or criminal liability for any good faith act or
omission in connection with that relinquishment. The
immunity granted under this paragraph includes immu- − 3 − 2023 Wisconsin Act 79 2023 Senate Bill 369
nity for exercising the right to remain anonymous under
sub. (2) (a), the right to leave at any time under sub. (2)
(b), and the right not to accept any information under sub.
(3) (b) and immunity from prosecution under s. 948.20
for abandonment of a child or under s. 948.21 for neglect-
ing a child.
SECTION 12. 48.195 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended
to read:
48.195 (4) (b) Any law enforcement officer, emer-
gency medical services practitioner, as defined in s.
256.01 (5), or hospital staff member who takes a child
into custody under sub. (1) (1m) is immune from any civil
liability to the child’s parents, or any criminal liability for
any good faith act or omission occurring solely in con-
nection with the act of receiving custody of the child from
the child’s parents or from a newborn infant safety
device, but is not immune from any civil or criminal lia-
bility for any act or omission occurring in subsequently
providing care for the child.
SECTION 13. 48.195 (5) of the statutes is amended to
read:
48.195 (5) MEDICAL ASSISTANCE ELIGIBILITY. A child
who is taken into custody under sub. (1) (1m) is presumed
to be eligible for medical assistance under s. 49.46 or
49.47.
SECTION 14. 48.195 (6) of the statutes is amended to
read:
48.195 (6) RULES. The department shall promulgate
rules to implement this section. In promulgating those
rules, the department shall consider the different circum-
stances under which a parent might relinquish custody of
a child under sub. (1) (1m). The rules shall include rules
prescribing a means by which a parent who relinquishes
custody of his or her child under sub. (1) (1m) may, until
the granting of an order terminating parental rights,
choose to be identified as the child’s parent.
SECTION 15. 48.355 (2d) (b) 5. of the statutes is
amended to read:
48.355 (2d) (b) 5. That the parent has been found
under s. 48.13 (2m) to have relinquished custody of the
child under s. 48.195 (1) (1m) when the child was 72
hours old or younger, as evidenced by a final order of a
court of competent jurisdiction making that finding.
SECTION 16. 48.415 (1m) of the statutes is amended
to read:
48.415 (1m) RELINQUISHMENT. Relinquishment,
which shall be established by proving that a court of com-
petent jurisdiction has found under s. 48.13 (2m) that the
parent has relinquished custody of the child under s.
48.195 (1) (1m) when the child was 72 hours old or
younger.
SECTION 17. 48.43 (7) (b) of the statutes is amended
to read:
48.43 (7) (b) If a permanent adoptive or subsidized
guardianship placement is not in progress 2 years after
entry of the order, the department may petition the court
to transfer legal custody of the child to a county depart-
ment, except that the department may not petition the
court to transfer to a county department legal custody of
a child who was initially taken into custody under s.
48.195 (1) (1m). The court shall transfer the child’s legal
custody to the county department specified in the peti-
tion. The department shall remain the child’s guardian.
SECTION 18. 48.485 (2) of the statutes is amended to
read:
48.485 (2) If a permanent adoptive or subsidized
guardianship placement is not in progress within 2 years
after entry of the termination of parental rights order by
the tribal court, the department may petition the tribal
court to transfer legal custody or guardianship of the
Indian child back to the Indian tribe, except that the
department may not petition the tribal court to transfer
back to an Indian tribe legal custody or guardianship of
an Indian child who was initially taken into custody
under s. 48.195 (1) (1m).