The legal guardian or parent of an infant may surrender them to a hospital within 72 hours of its birth. It was enacted in 2001 and made permanent in 2005 (see reference 1).
Since the passage of SSBF, over 500 babies have been taken in by the program, including over 150 which were found after being illegally abandoned.
Parents or legal guardians have a 14-day grace period after the surrender, should they change their mind. Upon surrender, the adult and baby are given wristbands, to assure the child is placed back with the right person (see reference 2)
Upon surrender the child is thoroughly checked and then placed in a pre-adoption home or in foster care.
If the parent has used the safe surrender option, nothing is done to the parent. They are only subjected to arrest or prosecution if they illegally abandon the baby.
According to Assembly Bill 2817, the state of California requires that the SSBF be taught in sex education classes from elementary through high school as of 2002 (see reference 3).