Nebraska "Safe Haven Law" in the news... UGHain

MrsG728

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What in Sam Hill is going on?
http://www.ketv.com/cnn-news/17804633/detail.html

OMAHA, Neb. -- A mother drove all the way from the Atlanta, Georgia area to drop off her 12-year-old son and take advantage of Nebraska's safe haven law, prompting a response from the Nebraska governor's office on Sunday.Capt. Jim Davidsaver with the Lincoln Police Department said the boy's mother told police she was unable to discipline her son and dropped him off at Bryan LGH East Hospital just before 10 p.m.Nebraska's safe haven law took effect in July and allows parents or guardians to drop off children up to 18-years-old at the state's hospitals without fear of prosecution.
*snip*
This is the 20th child to be dropped off under the Safe Haven law since the law went in effect.
 
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/met...ild_abandon.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

A Smyrna mother traveled nearly 1,000 miles to abandon her 12-year-old son at a Nebraska hospital Saturday night, authorities said.

Tysheema Brown, 33, left her child at BryanLGH Medical Center East at 9:50 p.m., said Chief Tom Casady of the Lincoln, Neb., Police Department.

Efforts by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to reach Brown by telephone Sunday night were unsuccessful.

<snip>

Under the law, 20 children ranging in age from 1 to 17 years have been abandoned in the state since Sept. 13, Landry said. Sixteen youths were older than 10.

<snip>

Casady said authorities were not surprised when people started abandoning older children.

“There’s a lot of desperate and frustrated parents who are at their wits’ end, dealing with behavioral and emotional issues,” Casady said. “Some kinds of services are hard to get and afford, so if you provide an easy button, you shouldn’t be surprised it would be hit.”

Brown traveled the farthest of any parent to date to leave a child in Nebraska. Two other children came from out of state, from Iowa and Michigan.

Casady said the county attorney’s office will file a petition in juvenile court and a judge will decide whether to keep Brown’s child under state protection or reunite the boy with his family.
 
Wait, this woman abandoned her son because she can't control him? Unbelievable. I like the Safe Haven law, but this seems like an abuse of it to me. There are other resources out there for help in parenting your child than to drive 1000 miles and abandon him in another state.
 
I feel sorry for Nebraska. This is NOT what this law was intended for, and there must be better ways to ensure the safety of children besides abandoning them when a parent can't cope.
 
Nebraska needs to act quick and modify their Safe Haven Law to include a specific age. Does this child not have any other family that she could have taken him to? This is ridiculous!
 
i think the law is great, necessary and long overdue.
I have heard that in az, (my state), a mother can take a newborn to any fire station and they will take it to a state agency. that's just as good a law as anyone needs.

I think that people coming from out of state, to nebraska, to drop off a child, should be prosecuted, and the child turned over to state authority in their home state.

i think restricting it to 3 days, is a little stiff, even if she knew she was going to give up the baby, i think it would take more than 3 days to actually do it.

my reason for supporting this law is that i've seen what happens to kids who's parents didn't want them when they get older, and its horrible. i wouldnt wish that on my worst enemy.


~lwr~
 
I think we all agree that safe haven laws are wonderful for the reasons you mentioned, but remember that the vague ambiguity of this law allows for the blatant abandonment of teenagers! This is insane!

They need to put the changes into effect immediately. I don't think that the re-write of this law happened fast enough.

MG
 
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &#8213; A Nebraska law that was intended to protect infants has resulted in about 22 children between the ages of 1 and 18 being abandoned by their parents for various reasons at area hospitals. The legislation was enacted in July and failed to define "child" and now the state's governor is calling a special session to fix the safe-haven law.

Gov. Dave Heineman said in a statement released before a news conference that the session would begin Nov. 14.

Heineman said legislation will be introduced which has already been agreed to by most of the state's 49 lawmakers. It would amend the law so it applies only to infants up to 3 days old.

http://cbs13.com/national/nevada.safe.haven.2.851406.html
 
overcompensate much?

sigh... for those women in a position to have their babies IN a hospital, maybe. but i think more desperate women would have a hard time recovering enough to do this when they have given birth in some slum room somewhere.

im sure the government of nebraska is patting itself on the back, and when a 4 day old shows up dead in a dumpster, they will sleep well at night. grrrr
 
While I don't want see ANY children abandoned, I don't have a problem with the law including older kids. If you're so desperate that you're willing to lose your parental rights (is that part of the law? I hope so), then that child is much better off without you. I'd rather see a child in foster care than abused physically or emotionally.
 
While I don't want see ANY children abandoned, I don't have a problem with the law including older kids. If you're so desperate that you're willing to lose your parental rights (is that part of the law? I hope so), then that child is much better off without you. I'd rather see a child in foster care than abused physically or emotionally.

Believe it or not thousands upon thousand of children are abused in foster care every year!
 
Believe it or not thousands upon thousand of children are abused in foster care every year!

While very true, there are thousands upon thousands that are not abused. (Not excusing those that are.)

We had to return our foster daughter earlier this year and I pray each day that her parents have turned their lives around. What came to us was a child with zero emotion that didn't even know how to be a child (she had never even had a real bath). What left us was a happy (almost) 2-year old little girl that was the love of my life. (She loved loved loved bathtimes - bubbles were her thing.) She's absolutely precious and I pray that her family will appreciate her and love her this go around.

========

On the subject of Nebraska's Safe Haven Law: I think they need to adjust the age (lower); however, they need to be realistic about it.
 
http://www.fremonttribune.com/articles/2008/10/29/news/local/doc49088b592d76f935092544.txt?orss=1

OMAHA (AP) -- Nebraska legislators are being called back into a special session by the governor to tighten up Nebraska’s unique safe-haven law.

Gov. Dave Heineman said in a statement released before a news conference that the session would begin Nov. 14.

“After consulting with the speaker of the Legislature, I am calling a special session for Nov. 14 to correct Nebraska’s safe-haven law,” Heineman said. He said Speaker Mike Flood will introduce legislation already agreed to by most of the state’s 49 lawmakers. It will set an age limit of 3 days old.

Nebraska’s is the only one in the country that lets parents or caregivers leave children as old as 17 at a state-licensed hospital without fear of prosecution for the abandonment.

Said Heineman: “This law needs to be changed to focus on its original intent, which is to protect infants.”

The governor first said the law should be changed on Sept. 18 after an 11-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy were abandoned.

*More at link*
 
Any parent who decides to drive a thousand miles to drop off their "difficult" child does not deserve to be a parent. There is something very, very wrong for anyone to go to such extremes concerning a 12 year old. He can do better with the aid of healthy adults...and therapy. Just think of what this child must be feeling knowing full well his mother's intent to "dump him". Can you imagine what his life could of been if she had not decided to do this???

Nebraska may need to fine tune this law, but I think it's wonderful for any child. They are who matter in the long run.
 
I can see why some mother's are desperate if there are horrible behavior and emotional problems. It's not easy to get help, period. Medicaid can provide counseling and there's ADD medication if a person has insurance or medicaid. Getting any other diagnosis or an in treatment/school mental hospital for really troubled kids or getting them into Boy's Town is sometimes impossible unless a person has money. They don't take Medicaid! Police also usually won't help. I'd do it to if that's what it took to get a kid away from gangs or to get some mental help before the kid went to prison as an adult.
 

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