A 12-year-old boy from the Atlanta area became the 20th youth abandoned under the state's "Safe Haven" law since mid-September.
the Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Saturday, October 25, 2008 7:00 pm
A 12-year-old boy from the Atlanta area was dropped off at BryanLGH Medical Center East late Saturday, becoming the 20th youth abandoned under the state's safe haven law since mid-September.
Lincoln Police took the boy into protective custody around 10 p.m. and turned the case over to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said Lincoln Police Capt. Jim Davidsaver.
Todd Landry, director of HHS division of children and family services, said the boy's mother drove him to Nebraska from Georgia. He has been placed in residential shelter.
Nebraska's safe haven law is the only one in the nation that allows parents or guardians to abandon children up to age 18. It took effect July 18 but wasn’t used until n Sept. 13, when an 11-year-old and 15-year-old were dropped off at hospitals in Lincoln and Omaha.
The Georgia boy left off on Saturday was the third dropped off at a Lincoln hospital. All others were left in Omaha, including a youth from Michigan and one from Iowa. Both of those children have been returned to their respective states.
HHS officials are in the process of gathering information from Nebraska and Georgia on the family.
The bill was intended to be used for infants, but no child under 20 months old has been abandoned since the law took effect.
Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood and Gov. Dave Heineman said this week most senators believe the law should be amended to apply only to infants up to 3 days old.