New Nebraska Safe Haven Law in Effect
OK, I was watching ER Thursday (I will miss ER - last season you know) and it seems that sometimes the writers like to slip in current events. An angry woman was complaining that if her kids acted a certain way she'd drop them off in Omaha! Well, no more. Nebraska legislatures revised a new safe haven law limiting the age of infants that can be abandoned without prosecution to the parents to 30 days. The original law allowed children up to the age of 18. The new law took effect today.
The unusual wording of the original safe haven law in Nebraska did bring an awareness to a problem that before only the parents and families suffering knew about, the need for mental health services and other supports for troubled teens/pre-teens. The last child to be brought in by a parent arrived Friday before the new law took effect. The 14-year-old boy arrived from Yolo County, Calif., with his mother.
The total now sits at 36 children that have been left at Nebraska hospitals since the original law took effect in July 2008. Many of them were pre-teens or teens.
What do you think needs to change? There are definite holes in services. Click "comments" below and share your thoughts.
SOURCES:
Nebraska Revises Child Safe Haven Law - The New York Times
California Boy Is Last Teen Dropped Off After Safe-Haven Law Gets Age Limit - Foxnews.com
Comments
I am co-author, with Lauren Sabina Kneisly (blogger Baby Love Child) of the blog Children of the Corn: Reporting, Theory, and Opinion on Legalized Child Dumping in Nebraska. We have posted over 70 entries now and havde a lot more to go as this continues to unfold. And believe me, it’s not over yet. So, for the “story behind the story” please visit us. http://cornkids.blogspot.com
I live in Nebraska. And, the law helped many families. If the children were being abused or if they were not getting enough support, then I completely understand what the parents were thinking. They just want their kids to have a good life, and they deserve it.