Nebraska Legislature amends safe-haven law

[catiebug]

This is one of the saddest things I think I have ever read. Parents of older children going to Nebraska to leave them, hoping they will get the help they need:

Nebraska today closed a loophole in a controversial law that had allowed parents to abandon their children at hospitals.

The unicameral Legislature voted 43-5 to make abandonment legal only for infants up to 30 days old. Gov. Dave Heineman signed the emergency bill this afternoon, and it takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Since the state's safe-haven law went into effect in September, 35 children have been left at state hospitals. Most of the youths were 11 or older and many have severe behavioral problems.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics...911,full.story

[kstar]

Originally Posted by catiebug

This is one of the saddest things I think I have ever read. Parents of older children going to Nebraska to leave them, hoping they will get the help they need:

Nebraska today closed a loophole in a controversial law that had allowed parents to abandon their children at hospitals.

The unicameral Legislature voted 43-5 to make abandonment legal only for infants up to 30 days old. Gov. Dave Heineman signed the emergency bill this afternoon, and it takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Since the state's safe-haven law went into effect in September, 35 children have been left at state hospitals. Most of the youths were 11 or older and many have severe behavioral problems.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics...911,full.story

I wish they had left the law alone. I would rather the children get help than be forced upon parents that have no way out.

[KSUViolet06]

I saw a segment about Nebraska's Safe Surrender Law and teenagers on 20/20 last night. They interviewed some women who had surrended their teenaged children via the old law. It was pretty interesting.

Many of the women interviewed really seemed to be at the end of the rope in terms of dealing with their child's behavioral issues and just were really frustrated at the lack of resources available to parents of troubled teens. They just felt as though there were no other options, and that they had to do this in order to get them the help that they needed.

[RU OX Alum]

this is sad

people really, really should not have children if they aren't ready, but no one thinks about that, they just think "oh wow, I will have a cute baby, everything will always be fine"

[squirrely girl]

it IS sad - but assuming that you can know in advance that your child will have severe behavioral problems as they grow up is a pretty big assumption to make. so is assuming that these were all planned pregnancies or that circumstances (finances and relationship status) haven't changed since the birth. EVERYBODY hopes for the best when they get pregnant. it doesn't always work out that way...

some of these children have been diagnosed as bipolar which certainly has biological and neurological components. meds and behavioral interventions can help treat the symptoms, but they are financially and labor intensive. i'm just shocked there weren't more children with disorders such as autism and mental retardation being dropped off.

i think the problems in nebraska simply highlight problems throughout the nation. nebraska may have fixed their immediate problem, but i can't help but think of other parents who may be in similar situations with nowhere to turn now. adjusting the age ranges only hides the problem now...