Neb. 'safe-haven' law allows abandonment of teens

Jolie Rouge

No doubt in my mind ... there are found everywhere : stupid people, overwhelmed, over stressed people and people that are just to self absorbed to deal with their own children

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Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

dv8grl

Thats why I'm not havin kids! I know I'm self-fish, I know I'm irresponsible!

Jolie Rouge

I would rather see ill suited parents leave their child with a responsible party - even if it is the "State" then see more stories like this Precious Doe identified finally

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Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

jeanea33

Not every parent dropping off kids will be a screwed up parents. Some will be just giving up on their responsibilities. I think we should also demand they pay support, starting right away. But many kids will be affected by being abandon, even more than they were. We would have to create homes for unwanted kids. We did that already, was called orphanages. We all know the horror stories came out of those. I dont think we can fix this by just allowing it to happen. We need rules and laws set into place that dont reward a parent for giving up on being a parent.

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Merry Christmas

Jolie Rouge

Is the object to protect the child or punish the parent ?

If the object to PROTECT the child ... then sometimes it might be better to let the parent walk away. As I understand it, the parent loses all rights and the child can be available for adoption.

I grew up in an extremely abusive home ... bruises heal, egos mend ... it is hard to get over a case of being DEAD.

As in the case of the overwhelmed father in LA - what if he had the option of dropping the kids off somewhere ? He clearly felt he had run out of option... and the last one he had included a bullet for each of his "loved ones". Better they had a chance to get over " abandonment issues" ....

__________________
Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

dv8grl

Neb. fears child abandonments from other states

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081009/...KVWOYKn8us0NUE

OMAHA, Neb. - More than a dozen children have been abandoned under Nebraska's unique safe-haven law, which allows children as old as 18 to be abandoned without fear of prosecution. But the case of a 14-year-old girl from Iowa has stoked fears of an influx of unwanted out-of-state children.

The law, which took effect in July, permits caregivers to leave children at hospitals. Like similar laws in other states, it was intended to protect infants. But the Nebraska law was written to include the word "child," without setting an age limit.

Some have taken the word "child" in the law to mean "minor," which in Nebraska includes anyone under the age of 19. Others have taken the common law definition, which includes those under age 14.

And the law doesn't preclude people from out of state from leaving their children in Nebraska, which leaves some uncertainty about its current reach.

"It really concerns me that (people from) other states are possibly going to be leaving their children here," said state Sen. Arnie Stuthman, who introduced the bill that was the basis for the safe-haven law.

So far, 17 children have been abandoned under the safe-haven law, including nine from a single family. A 14-year-old girl from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was left at a hospital across the Missouri River in Omaha late Tuesday.

Nebraska lawmakers aren't scheduled to convene again until January, but they already are re-examining the law they passed in the spring.

Gov. Dave Heineman has not ruled out calling a rare special session of the Legislature to fix the law, but he has been reluctant to do so.

"The governor remains hopeful that a special session won't be needed, but this issue must be addressed immediately at the beginning of the next session," Heineman's spokeswoman Jen Rae Hein said Wednesday.

Jeanne Atkinson, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said that despite the safe-haven law, the state could seek to press other charges, including child neglect charges, against those who abandon children.

Todd Landry, director of Nebraska's Division of Children and Family Services, declined to say who left the child and under what circumstances, but said an investigation continues.

State Sen. Mike Flood, speaker of the Legislature, said that when the law is revised, he would like to see it pertain only to Nebraska residents, although he didn't say how that might be accomplished.

Whoever abandoned the 14-year-old might be prosecuted in Iowa if a different law, such as child neglect, could be applied to the situation, Landry said.

Usually, when a criminal act is committed, its prosecution — or in this case absolution — is tied to the state in which the crime was committed, said Omaha attorney K.C. Engdahl, who has handled family law cases. But since this is a cross-border case involving children, that complicates the matter, he said.

"The state always has a reason to be involved when the best interest of minor children are implicated or involved in any way," he said.

The number of children left will continue to climb, including the possibility of seeing children left by desperate parents pushed to the brink by the souring economy, said Kathy Bigsby Moore, executive director of Voices for Children in Nebraska. She pointed to research that links economic stress and other risk factors for children.

"My main hope is that this Iowa case doesn't distract policy-makers from the real issue," she said, "which is that Nebraska children and families need an avenue for obtaining services and respite for very difficult family situations."

gmyers

Me and my husband were talking and he said the sad thing about this is the parents that are physically and sexually abusing there kids wont do this. They enjoy hurting and abusing their kids too much. The ones that will do it are the parents that are having discipline problems with their kids or financially overwhelmed or just tired of dealing with their kids. I believe the kids that are seriously being abused will continue to be because those parents feel like they own them. Like they're possessions to do what they want to with. I can't see those parents doing anything good for their children or they wouldn't abuse them in the first place.

LuvBigRip

OMAHA, Neb. -- The man who left his nine children at an Omaha hospital is asking for visitation rights.

Gary Staton was in a Douglas County Juvenile courtroom Wednesday morning for a hearing regarding the status of his children.

Staton left his children, ranging from ages 1 to 17, at the Creighton University Medical Center on Sept. 24 in connection with the state’s new safe haven law.

So far, a total of 17 children have been left at Nebraska hospitals within the last month under the safe haven law.

Staton’s attorneys filed a motion that asked the judge to not release the names and ages of the children. They also asked that the hearing be closed to the public.

The court has yet to reach a decision on where the children should be placed.

http://www.ketv.com/cnn-news/17662064/detail.html

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It all goes downhill from here

ilovecats

I don't understand why this guy didn't just ask for help.

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Jolie Rouge

2nd out-of-state teen dropped at Omaha hospital
By JOSH FUNK, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 11 minutes ago

OMAHA, Neb. - A second teenager from outside Nebraska has been left at an Omaha hospital under the state's unique safe-haven law, apparently after his parent flew to the city specifically to abandon him, state officials said Monday.

A 13-year-old Michigan boy was left at Creighton University Medical Center between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. Monday, said Nebraska Health and Human Services spokeswoman Kathie Osterman.

Since July 18, when the new law went into effect, 18 children between the ages of 1 and 17 have been abandoned. Nebraska's safe-haven law allows children as old as 18 to be left at state-licensed hospitals without fear of prosecution.

This is the second time that a child from outside the state has been left at a hospital in Nebraska. It's not clear why the boy was left, Osterman said. He was placed in an emergency shelter.

Last week, a 14-year-old girl from Iowa was left at an Omaha hospital by her grandparents. She has since been returned to her family.

Her abandonment set off concerns that Nebraska's broadly written law could make the state a dumping ground for unwanted children. Officials with the state's Department of Health and Human Services have stressed that the safe-haven law should be used for children in immediate danger only.

State offices were closed for Columbus Day Monday, slowing the investigation.

Officials have said parents and caregivers contemplating using the law should understand there is no guarantee a child could be returned to them if they change their minds. The placement may involve the courts, and the process of regaining custody may prove difficult.

Several of the parents or guardians who have left children cited uncontrollable behavioral problems as reasons for using the law. An out-of-work widower who left nine of his 10 children — ages 1 to 17 — said he simply felt overwhelmed by his responsibilities. That man, Gary Staton, has asked a judge to approve state-supervised visitation with the children he abandoned.

Officials have encouraged parents to seek other resources before resorting to abandonment. They've urged desperate parents to ask for help from family, faith-based groups and other community services before abandoning their children at hospitals.

State lawmakers and Gov. Dave Heineman have said the safe haven law, which was intended to protect infants, needs to be changed. The current law uses the word "child," which some have taken to mean "minor," or anyone under the age of 19.

The Legislature's Judiciary and Health and Human Services committees plan to hold a joint public hearing on the safe-haven law on Nov. 13.



On the Net: DHHS safe-haven page: http://www.hhs.state.ne.us/Children_...ces/SafeHaven/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081013/....silZfWL.s0NUE

__________________
Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

dv8grl

Georgian abandons 12-year-old son at Neb. hospital

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081027/...5B8cNJDTtG2ocA

LINCOLN, Neb. – A woman drove her troubled 12-year-old son from Georgia to Nebraska and abandoned him under the state's unique safe-haven law, which parents have used to leave 20 children at hospitals since the law took effect in July. The boy, from the Atlanta suburb of Smyrna, was dropped off at BryanLGH Medical Center East in Lincoln on Saturday night, said Todd Landry of the Department of Health and Human Services.

He is the third child from out of state brought to Nebraska to be abandoned under the law; abandoned children from Iowa and Michigan have been returned to their home states.

The Georgia boy's mother, who has not been identified, told the Lincoln Journal Star in a story published Monday that she regretted her actions but thought the safe-haven law was her last chance at saving her troubled son.

The woman said she had tried but failed to get her son admitted to Boys Town in Nebraska. She said her own mother had sent her to the nearly century-old community, which was started as a home for at-risk boys but has grown to include young women and families.

Nebraska and Georgia officials are working together to decide what to do with the boy, who was placed in residential shelter care, Landry said.

Most states let parents and guardians drop off children up to a month old at hospitals or other safe institutions, but Nebraska's law is the only one in the country that allows caregivers to abandon children as old as 18 without fear of prosecution.

The law, intended to protect newborns, includes the word "child," which some have interpreted to mean teenagers. Most of the Nebraska Legislature's 49 senators have agreed to amend the law in January so it applies only to infants up to 3 days old.

Gov. Dave Heineman has resisted calls for a special legislative session, but said Oct. 20 that he would call a special session if there were several more safe-haven cases from out of state. On Monday his spokeswoman said Heineman has not changed his mind about the special session.

The Georgia woman, who was raised in Nebraska, told the Journal Star her son was first suspended from school in the first grade for various infractions, and by the 5th grade he was flunking school, stealing, lying to and defying adults, including his probation officer.

An expensive psychiatric evaluation showed the boy was defiant but the doctor would not prescribe any medicine, and overnight stays in juvenile detention made no apparent impression, she said.

"There's no fear in this little boy," she told the Journal Star.

The woman said she grew up in Lincoln with her single mother and three siblings, and her mother placed her at Boys Town in 1992 after problems at home led to her running away.

For her own son, she said, "Boys Town was my one and only last hope. There was nothing else for me."