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Lawmakers put age cap in safe-haven law

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By NATE JENKINS / The Associated Press

Friday, Nov 21, 2008 - 12:02:55 pm CST

The surprising and seemingly endless stream of teenagers dropped off at Nebraska hospitals over the last two months likely will come to an end Saturday.

The Nebraska Legislature on Friday gave final approval, with a 43-5 vote, to a bill that puts a 30-day age limit on children who can be dropped off under the state’s safe-haven law.

Gov. Dave Heineman was expected to sign the bill Friday afternoon, making the law go into effect at 12:01 a.m. CST Saturday. Nebraska will join 13 other states with a 30-day age cap. It has been the only state with a safe-haven law that that lacks an age limit.

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“I think this solves the immediate problem of adolescents being abandoned,” said Sen. Kent Rogert of Tekamah. “These kids are old enough to know they’re being dropped off, and that’s not good.”

The law was meant to prevent newborns from being dumped in trash bins or worse.

But it has been used to abandon 35 children at state hospitals since July — many of them preteens or teenagers as old as 17.

Five of the children have been from other states, including from as far away as Florida and Michigan.

Lawmakers have vowed to address the lack of services for troubled, older youths they say that use of the law has illustrated. The regular legislative session convenes in January.

Parents and guardians who have dropped off the kids have said they have done so because they thought they had nowhere else to turn.

Some parents who have stopped short of dropping off children say they sympathize with those who have.

Therese Guy of Papillion said she became a foster parent to a boy who had previously committed a sexual offense and it took nine months for him to get his mental problems diagnosed.

“It was just that booked up to get him into a center,” she said earlier this week. “Don’t change the safe-haven law until you have other changes in place, because it’s helping kids now.”

While there is an outcry by some lawmakers and child-welfare experts for the state to fix a safety net they say is broken, some question how much government can do to solve the problems.

“There are going to be things beyond our reach,” said Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh of Omaha. “The government can’t replace a parent.”


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Tonyo wrote on November 21, 2008 9:31 am:
" Quick, dump your kids. That is all this town needs is for them to say when the deadline is. Wait and see how many kids are dropped off today.

Now I want to know why the people of this state were not allowed a voice in this matter? Where do they get off? I am so glad the government is By the people For the people and Of the people. So much for the voting system. "

 whatever wrote on November 21, 2008 9:53 am:
" And the likelihood we will ever see a child under the age of dropped of is zero and the cost to the state will be zero. Isn't really all about feeling like you did something but really did nothing? I thought it was bad legislation from the get go but having seen what transpired we should have left the law alone until the "gaps" could be "closed" then revisit the law. My guess is nothing of substance will occur to resolve the problems revealed by this law. My sincere hope is that I am wrong. I would suggest visiting with those who were in the battle lines in the late 60's and early 70's of community based care. Further I would visit those that are still alive that remember Boystown in it's best days back in the 50's and earlier to revisit some of the success that led Nebraska at one time to be at the forefront of the care of it's citizens, not the backwater it's become the past 15 years or so. And I would really hope that Gov. Heinemann would have an "epiphany" and actually become a leader on some of these issues instead "detector of wind direction". Heinemann you have the potential to be one of the best governors of this State if you would just follow your instincts, morality and ethics that you seem to have lost touch with. Reelection be damned take some risks. In 20 years you will feel much better about yourself and be much more respected. "

 Dr Juan wrote on November 21, 2008 9:55 am:
" Watch Heineman and friends try to dissuade, postpone and ignore the triage service for older kids that Annette Dubas wants to create.

Republican health care: once you're out of the womb, you know longer matter. "

 Dave Ellis wrote on November 21, 2008 10:02 am:
" I hope like Hell, the Legislature takes a look at getting help for older kids with mental issues. Some of the abandonded kids were dropped off because of these issues and the parents felt they had no choice but to do what was best for the child.

As a person with bi-polar, and watching my brother suffer from bi-polar more severe than my own, my heart goes out to the kids and parents who have battled mental illnesses. As an adult, my illness is challenging to me, I can only imagine what it must be like for a child to experience, and probably explains why in the '70s, I did some of the stupid things that I did.

I don't hold my breathe though, as Nebraska has problems at Beatrice State Development Center, that they seemingly cannot solve, so why should I hold out hope for kids with mental illnesses and our State helping them? "

 L wrote on November 21, 2008 10:15 am:
" Probably a good thing to put a cap on the age limit, but that being said, there needs to be a lot more done in this state to help all of the other children over 30-days old that need help. Parents need someone to reach out to, that is affordable, compassionate, and most of all helpful. There has to be some good people out there that will volunteer their time to open some free/cheap clinics for the parents that need help. "

 Hmm wrote on November 21, 2008 10:47 am:
" Everyone is complaining but what have you done to better the situation? Why haven't you put your thoughts into actions? Ponder that while you all sit there and complain. "

 CJB wrote on November 21, 2008 10:49 am:
" Tonyo - People aren't "allowed" to vote on every single matter because we elect REPRESENTATIVES to do that for us. This is not a Democracy we live in, it's a Representative Republic. You voted November 4th. And if you want something on the ballot for us all to vote on, the proper channels must be followed. "

 OIF Vet wrote on November 21, 2008 10:50 am:
" Tonyo - Contact your senator, voice your opinion. I'm sure he/she isn't reading this trying to decide which way to vote. We can't vote on every issue, we elect people to do that for us. "

 To Tonyo wrote on November 21, 2008 10:56 am:
" People's voice?? The people's voices are the senators we elected to represent us in Lincoln. That's the whole point of a representative democracy, the people choose those that best represent their interests in the law. There is no realistic way you could put every little thing in the law to a vote of the entire population. If you have a problem with what happened with safe haven, or with any other law passed or suggested in the upcoming session, then maybe you need to pay more attention to who you vote into office as your representative. "

 KIM M wrote on November 21, 2008 11:00 am:
" Well Tonyo- I did evrything I could think of. I wrote every single Legislature and the Govenor numerous times, asking for at least a 2 year age limit. I suppose that our Govenor only thinks that a bay 3days to 30 days are the only children that are in danger of being hurt or worse. I trully hope that everyone listens to Annette Dubas bill in the upcoming session and passes it. It will provide for our older children. Everyone should bombard their legislature with e-mails and phone calls in support of her bill. I encourage everyone to do that and to pray for the children that are injured and killed everyday.

By the way when you are writting your legislature tell them that at 'open' forums for the public to speak that every citizen should be allowed to talk not just the ones they want to hear from. IE: they only wanted to hear from the 'professionals treating the kids not us as the ones who got them elected in the first place. We all should have our voices heard! After all Don't they represent us?
Kim Morsett
Raymond Ne "

 re to Ellis wrote on November 21, 2008 11:19 am:
" I also have Bi-Polar, which is quite excessive. I am quite maintained due to a series of medications, as an adult. However, when I was a child, and not diagnosed, it would have DESTROYED me to have been given up because I was too hard of a case to handle by my parents. I probably would not have survived. So, as yet another Bi-Polar individual out there, I give kudos to my parents for showing me that there was a better way. Not that I wasn't worth a damn. "Help" does NOT mean getting dumped off somewhere and I find it excruciatingly difficult to believe anyone dealing with a mental disorder would fare well either. "

 good decesion wrote on November 21, 2008 11:23 am:
" Now all these reports can stop. I am glad I for one agree the problemis now fixed once the cap is in place. Thanks Nebraska for getting it right "

 Nanny State wrote on November 21, 2008 12:04 pm:
" So now the process will start of increasing taxes to create more gov't departments to take the place of irresponsible parents. Hope Heineman will veto all the bs to come down the road from this. "

 Extremes wrote on November 21, 2008 12:51 pm:
" Look at our legislature passing this knee-jerk reaction to the national humilation of our state over the last 10 weeks. Now we're cutting the age limit back to 30 days???? Good grief! How about we think of the children that are not able to care for themselves at all. I believe the age limit should have been set to under 10 years. I think if you do the research you'll find many more reports of injury or death to a 2-6 year olds than you do to a newborn infant. This law was meant to protect children, not their parents. I agree the age limit had to be reduced but I think our legislature overreacted based on their bad press of late. While I do hope there will be additional help available for those children that have mental or behavioral issues my belief is that the help is there, just lack of information. I encourage parents to consult school conselors, Child Advocacy Center, Lincoln Action Program, and Family Services for additional information. There are programs, counselors, and other services for youth that you may not even know about and you won't if you don't ask. Sharing your concerns about your children is the first step to getting help. "

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