A child believed to be 12 to 24 hours old is in the custody of Greene County Children Services after it was dropped off at the Beavercreek Police Department, under Ohio’s Safe Haven law.

The child was left at the police department just after 7 Monday night, Police Chief Jeff Fiorita said Tuesday.

“This is the first case in Beavercreek since the Safe Haven law was created,” Susan Alberter, interim executive director, Greene County Children Services, said Tuesday evening.

“This is a rare situation. We’re consulting with our prosecutor … to make sure we’re proceeding under the guidelines of the law,” Alberter said.

According to Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the Ohio Safe Haven law allows a birth parent to leave an infant (up to 30 days old) with a medical worker in a hospital, a medical worker at a fire department or other emergency service organization or a peace officer at a law enforcement agency.

If the infant is left with a person at one of these places, and has not been abused, the parent will face no legal consequences for making this choice.

Under the Safe Havens for Newborns act, the birth parent (mother or father) can take a child to a safe haven. The law provides protection from prosecution only for the child ‘s parents.

A birth parent may take a newborn to a safe haven at any time until the child is 30 days old.

If the baby needs medical attention, it will be provided. The professional staff person who accepts the baby will contact the county children services agency; and the baby will be placed in an adoptive home.

Safe haven laws (also known in some states as “Baby Moses laws”) are statutes in the United States that decriminalize the leaving of unharmed infants with statutorily designated private persons so that the child becomes a ward of the state.

Texas was the first state to enact a “Baby Moses Law” in 1999. By 2008, all 50 states had some form of the safe haven law.