15-year-old abandoned under "Safe-Haven Law"

Parent Cafe
1

<p>(In many newspapers.)</p>

<p>September 15, 2008
2 boys left at Neb. hospitals under ‘haven’ law
By JEAN ORTIZ
Associated Press Writer </p>

<p>Two boys ages 15 and 11 were left at Nebraska hospitals over the weekend, the first youngsters surrendered under the state’s new safe-haven law that allows caregivers to abandon children and teens as well as infants, officials said.</p>

<p>A 44-year-old woman dropped off her teenage nephew at Lincoln’s BryanLGH Medical Center West on Saturday, saying the boy had behavioral problems that she couldn’t handle anymore, Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady said. The woman is the boy’s legal guardian.</p>

<p>The other boy was left at Immanuel Medical Center in Omaha on Saturday, said Alegent Health spokeswoman Kelly Grinnell.</p>

<p>The 11-year-old was dropped off by his mother, who said she believed she could no longer care for him, said Todd Landry, who heads the Department of Health and Human Services’ division of children and family services.</p>

<p>The two cases are the first uses of the state’s safe-haven law, Landry said. Neither case produced suspicion of child abuse or neglect and neither child appeared to be in immediate danger, he said.</p>

<p>“These were two cases where the caregiver or parent decided the behavior issues were such they felt they could no longer provide good parenting skills,” Landry said.</p>

<p>The 11-year-old remained in an Omaha hospital for evaluation and observation Monday, he said. The 15-year-old was temporarily placed in an emergency shelter in Lincoln. The county attorneys and the courts will now step in to determine custody.</p>

<p>Nebraska was the last state in the nation to adopt a safe-haven law, which took effect July 18. It allows any caregiver, not just a parent, to leave a child at any state-licensed hospital without fear of prosecution.</p>

<p>Under previous law, a parent who abandoned a baby could have been charged with child neglect or abandonment, both misdemeanors, or child abuse, a felony.</p>

<p>Most other states have focused their laws on protecting infants.</p>

<p>State Sen. Arnie Stuthman said he introduced the bill intending to protect infants. In a compromise with senators worried about arbitrary age limits, the measure was expanded to include the word “child.”</p>

<p>The law doesn’t further define child, and some have interpreted that to mean anyone in Nebraska under the age of 19. Others have taken the common law meaning of child — those under age 14.</p>

<p>Stuthman’s bill was signed into law as a way of protecting children from immediate danger or harm, said Landry, who didn’t believe the two cases Saturday carried that sense of urgency.</p>

<p>Stuthman said Monday that he was surprised that two older children were abandoned on the same day. He said the cases didn’t meet the intent of his bill, but he said they will open lawmakers’ eyes as to the issues affecting children and families.</p>

<p>“I clearly do not believe this was the intent of LB157,” he said.</p>

<p>Stuthman and others have said they are open to revisiting the legislation.</p>

2

<p>Prayers for those children.</p>

3

<p>Although it is heart-rending for a parent to read about dropping off an older child, even as it would be for an infant, but at least at infant would not remember the circumstances, how much better for these children to be left in a place where they can be safe and get help. I wonder how many others are simply kicked out on the street, and we just don’t know about them as they try to survive on their own.</p>

4

<p>setting aside the dilemma of the child and the ex-providers; i think the lawmakers were idiots not to have defined children. Most are attorneys, and all are assumed to be highly educated men and women. One simple sentence: for the purpose of this legislation, a child shall be defined as a minor who is under X years of age.</p>

5

<p>What heartache in the world.</p>

6

<p>This really isn’t new, except on paper. Abandonment of a minor child has been against the law, but it is not one that was generally enforced. Sometimes the gov’t would go after folks who had the money to recoup some of the expenses. But in general, child services doesn’t consider it in the best interest of the child to remain with a guardian who doesn’t want them.</p>

<p>We cared for a 9 year old whose grandparents, who lived in VA, drove to GA, told the girl they were going “on vacation”, and dropped her off at our country’s DFCS. Our county was the last known residence of the girl’s mother, who was homeless and on drugs. The girl had an older brother, whom the grandparents were happy with - they had adopted him. And she had two younger half-siblings who were with their father - not hers.</p>

<p>There was no penalty for the grandparents. </p>

<p>What is truly criminal is the hoop-jumping that must go on in order to make these children available for adoption.</p>

<p>I don’t understand all the details of laws and ramifications of laws. I also know that more than once we’ve cared for teenagers whose parents took them to court and had them declared “Incorrigible” or something like that, and gave up custody. Again, no ramifications for the parents.</p>

7

<p>There were many days I seriously would have considered this…</p>

8

<p>Boys and Girls Town is in Nebraska.
They have been taking in abandoned (and orphaned) children for many decades. This is nothing new.</p>

9

<p>It hurts to read this. It is heartening to hear that the option is there for those at the end of their tether. I know what you mean, MomofWildChild. Hopefully, this will lower incidents of child abuse.</p>

10

<p>It is so sad to read this. But I am very glad this law exists. Now of course, all rather meaningless if support and services for the dropped off child isn’t adequate. I hope it is.</p>

11

<p>Sad indeed, it’s true. But, these older kids aren’t nearly as important as the unborn. They must by all means, be brought into the world, even if the ones already here fall through the cracks…right?..Right?:rolleyes:</p>

12

<p>Yes poet, point taken. I sometimes wonder- to those who would require every birth(not permitting abortions, and some not permitting birth control) I would ask- “how many of those unwanted children have you adopted?”</p>

13

<p>It is a terribly frustrating situation for parents of teens when they have children of that age out of control. You cannot just restrain them and let the incident pass. A lot of physical damage can be done to self and others. </p>

<p>I went to a number of group sessions one summer where a lot of parents had this problem with their older kids. What can one do when just do not do what is asked, required, demanded of them and they are constantly in trouble? If you have a 6 footer who wants to go out the door, you cannot physically stop him without getting into a scuffle, and you are not taking care if you don’t let him back home if he is underage, especially if he is 13, 14, 15, rather than older in the minor spectrum. Police are limited in being able to help too. There were parents who had kids who just refused to go to counseling, to school, or to come home at curfew and were at their wits end as to what to do. ANd their police dept was tired of them and was no longer helpful, telling them to see a counselor which they were already doing. In cases like that, particularly a single mom with other kids who may be endangered by the actions of the older one and the strife in the household, dropping off the kid may be the best thing to do for all. </p>

<p>As for the unborn, there is fast approaching the day, when they can be dropped off, at enormous expense in a freezer or incubator if the moms no longer want them in her body.</p>

14

<p>The biggest problem with dropping off teens is assuming that someone else will have the power to “make” them do something, when their own parents can’t. Along with all the other issues they are dealing with, they now have to deal with the aspect of abandonment - that the one person in the world who was supposed to love them unconditionally has given up on them.</p>

<p>It is not surprising that so many have lingering problems. What is suprising is the occasional success.</p>

15

<p>It is not a solution for the kid, but if he is causing acute disruption in a family, especially if other kids are involved, it can ease that situation somewhat. It can also prevent worse happenings; an adult losing control and getting physical. It is in scenarios like this with recalcitrant young males, that family brawls occur, sometimes with truly tragic consequences. Hopefully, the “abandonment” can be worked out. I am hoping the mom was just at her wits end and maybe with help from counselors, authorities, something can be done. It may have been the best alternative from the sorry lot of choices the mom was facing.</p>

16

<p>There was a story in yesterday’s Cleveland Plain Dealer about a woman begging a juvenile court judge to incarcerate her 17-year-old son for something minor - a misdemeanor or a probation violation - the judge would not/could not do it and the boy shot and killed another boy shortly afterward. That mom would have gladly left her son at the emergency room that day.</p>

<p>[Mother</a>, probation officer had urged judge to lock up boy now held in youth’s slaying - Cleveland Metro News - The Latest Breaking News, Photos and Stories from The Plain Dealer](<a href=“http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/09/mother_probation_officer_had_u.html]Mother”>Mother, probation officer had urged judge to lock up boy now held in youth's slaying | cleveland.com)</p>

17

<p>

This thread needed to turn into a jab at pro-lifers?</p>

<p>

I adopted one.</p>

18

<p>My thanks to you, timely for choosing to adopt an unwanted child. You’re helping the child who is now wanted, the (former) parent, and all of society.</p>

19

<p>Do you know what’s sad? And I think this is something that all of us here would agree is wrong. It is often very difficult to adopt even older kids with “issues”. I know of a couple just a few weeks ago who were denied their request to adopt an 8 year old boy they had been caring for (can’t remember whether the mom was on drugs, neglectful, or what). The court denied their request because the boy’s 65 year old grandpa and his 35 year old wife (!) wanted to take him.</p>