Senate Bill 2377 Summary

• Enacts the "Mississippi Safe Haven Law" allowing parents to relinquish infants 30 days old or younger to emergency medical services providers (hospitals, fire stations, ambulances, licensed adoption agencies) without fear of prosecution and with anonymity protection.

• Permits parents unable to relinquish infants directly to call 911 and remain with the infant until emergency services arrives; expands infant definition from 7 days to 30 days old and requires EMS providers to attempt obtaining parental and medical background information.

• Requires Department of Child Protection Services to take legal custody immediately upon notice and physical custody within 24 hours; mandates immediate reporting to law enforcement as a potential missing child and investigation into whether infant is actually missing.

• Establishes expedited court timeline: hearing within 48 hours for custody determination, notice publication and petition filing within 48 hours, permanency/adjudication hearing within 60-75 days, and termination of parental rights hearing within 30 days of petition filing; requires reasonable search for relatives within 45 days.

• Makes child a party to abuse/neglect proceedings with right to counsel including at shelter hearings; designates Department of Child Protection Services as necessary party at all stages; prioritizes termination-of-parental-rights and adoption cases on court dockets with immediate judge notification.