Nebraskas 'safe haven' law fails - The Drunken stepFORUM - A place to discuss your worthless opinions

dikfore63 · #1 10-10-2008, 04:05 PM

Nebraska 'safe haven' law for kids has unintended results
Updated 9/26/2008 1:45 PM

Between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday, three fathers walked into two hospitals in Omaha and abandoned their children. One left nine siblings, ages 1 to 17.

The men, unless proven to have abused the kids, won't face prosecution under a new Nebraska law that is unique in the nation. The law allows parents to leave a child at a licensed hospital without explaining why.

Other parents have also used the law to leave their children. Last week, a 13-year-old girl was left. The week before that, two boys ages 11 and 15. In all, fathers, mothers and caregivers in six families — some single parents — have bailed on 14 kids, including seven teens, since the law took effect in July.

"They were tired of their parenting role," says Todd Landry of Nebraska's Department of Health and Human Services. He says child behavioral problems, not family financial woes, were a factor in the earlier cases. He says little is known about the three new cases, which are under investigation.

None of the kids was in immediate danger, Landry says. He says the four oldest of the nine siblings were placed together in an emergency shelter and the others in a foster home. "They're struggling to varying degrees with what's happened to them."

Landry says the courts will decide whether to require the parents to pay child support or to try to reunite them with their children.

"This was never the intent of the bill," says Republican state Sen. Arnie Stuthman. He says he co-wrote it to protect newborns from abandonment, but to get enough support for passage, it was changed to cover all children.

"We really opened a can of worms," he says. "We have a mess." He says the law needs to be fixed.

All 50 states have "safe haven" laws, but the others apply only to infants less than 1 year old.

The Nebraska law is the "worst-case scenario of unintended consequences," says Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a research group. He says it allows parents to walk out on troublesome teens.

"We don't endorse the way it was done," says Tracey Johnson of the National Safe Haven Alliance.

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Create a law to people can give up their babies for adoption and they forgot to put an age limit. Out of 14 kids turned in since July, 7 have been teenagers. Funny ass shit.

Tablefor5 · #2 10-10-2008, 04:45 PM

you know if the parent doesn't want them, then maybe it is best for the child that they were dropped off and hopefully someone will care for them.

or they will turn to porn to pay the bills when they hit legal age.
Either way its a win-win outcome

beastley · #3 10-10-2008, 05:05 PM

but the problem is they will probably not be cared for.

jcaf41 · #4 10-10-2008, 05:36 PM

how would that be any different than keeping them with the parent

Choppie · #5 10-10-2008, 05:41 PM

I believe that law should be kept, but amended, to add that ANY parent that drops a child off must face mandatory sterilization.

chilansl · #6 10-10-2008, 06:18 PM

Which way is Nebraska?

Kids! Road trip!

Carlos Spicy Wiener · #7 10-10-2008, 06:20 PM

dear lord 13, isn't it a little to decided that you don't want to be a parent.

n2tattoos.lol · #8 10-10-2008, 06:44 PM

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i second and third this.

beastley · #9 10-10-2008, 08:04 PM

florida has a similar law, but it only applies to newborns...nebraskas problem is that they forgot to put a restriction on age, so even a 17 year old kid can be dropped off without any repercussions on the parents. so NE just needs to set that limit, and they will be better off. the law's worked well here in FL

Kyle E. Coyote · #10 10-10-2008, 08:19 PM

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Exactly. This law is intended to discourage abortions by making it so parents don't have to go through the drawn out process of putting a kid up for adoption, not to encourage abandonment. Way to fuck up something as simple as a safe haven law, Nebraska.