Iowa law provides several ways to safely relinquish an infant as authorities investigate the circumstances of Tuesday’s death in Perry.
PERRY, Iowa — The discovery of a deceased premature infant at a Perry child care facility has drawn renewed attention to Iowa’s Safe Haven law, which allows parents in certain circumstances to relinquish an infant without facing prosecution for abandonment.
Perry police are investigating after officers found the infant Tuesday evening in a trash container at Acorns & Oaks Child Care on the Perry Lutheran Homes Eden Acres campus. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is assisting. Police said the infant was not under the care of the child care center and was not a client of the facility.
According to Iowa Health and Human Services, the state’s Safe Haven Act allows a parent, or another person authorized by the parent, to leave an infant up to 90 days old at designated locations. Those options include hospitals, certain health care facilities, fire stations, newborn safety devices and adoption service providers. A parent may also call 911 and relinquish an infant to a first responder who answers the call.
The law is intended to provide a legal way for an infant to be placed into safe care without prosecution for abandonment when its requirements are met. Iowa Health and Human Services says more than 60 children have been declared safe havens since the law took effect in 2002.
The renewed discussion follows a sequence of events that began shortly before 5 p.m. Sept. 15, when Dallas County Emergency Medical Services responded to Acorns & Oaks for a report of a woman experiencing vaginal bleeding. Emergency crews evaluated the woman and took her to a Des Moines-area hospital at about 5:33 p.m., police said.
At about 6:22 p.m., Perry officers were told that a premature infant might be in a trash container at the facility. Police said officers arrived and found the deceased infant inside a trash bag at about 6:32 p.m. The body was later transported to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny for an autopsy.
Police Chief Jim Archer has said investigators need the medical examiner’s findings and other evidence before determining whether a crime occurred or whether charges are appropriate. Authorities have not released the woman’s name, established her relationship to the infant publicly or announced a cause or manner of death.
The location of the discovery has also prompted police and the facility to clarify that the infant was not enrolled at Acorns & Oaks and was not being cared for by the center. Perry Lutheran Homes said it is following instructions from law enforcement and is not releasing details while the investigation continues.
The case remains active, with Perry police and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation awaiting additional findings. Authorities have said there is no known continuing threat to the community, and further information is expected only after investigators are able to establish more of the circumstances surrounding the infant’s death.
Author note: Last updated September 17, 2026.