Members of the Legislature took a step Thursday — a day before the door is set to close on safe haven drop-offs of older children — toward exploring solutions to those families’ problems.

Lincoln Sen. Amanda McGill will chair a task force of six senators aimed at helping families in crisis find adequate mental and behavioral health services.

The task force will meet with mental health service providers, government agencies and others three times before the regular session begins in January to come up with legislation to meet short-term and long-term needs of children in crisis.

Twenty-six families have used the safe haven law to get services for 35 children since it went into effect July 18. Many of them had mental or behavioral health issues and were in crisis because services they had weren’t working or higher levels of services were denied.

McGill said the response to the safe haven legislation, originally intended for babies, has been a blessing in disguise.

The amended bill, which will apply only to infants up to 30 days old, will have its final reading Friday and could be signed by Gov. Dave Heineman shortly after that.

The task force — made up of McGill and Sens. Annette Dubas of Fullerton, Tim Gay of Papillion, Gwen Howard of Omaha, Dave Pankonin of Louisville and Arnie Stuthman of Platte Center — has scheduled its first meeting for Dec. 2 at Boys Town.

Howard challenged the Department of Health and Human Services to be part of the solution rather than a barrier to reaching one. The problems have been going on for decades, she said.

With some foster families who have adopted children, for example, when serious problems have come up originating from maltreatment before adoption, HHS has not been there to help, Howard said. Rather, families were referred to a private agency or put on a waiting list or directed to other services.

Commitment to solving the problems has to come from the highest level, Howard said, “because it’s not going to be cheap.“

McGill said the problem goes deeper than just finding alternatives for families in crisis. More fundamental changes are needed, she said, and the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee has been exploring the issues this fall and members have good ideas for legislation.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Brad Ashford predicted the task force will succeed.

“There’s no question that the way we will conduct our business will be in a very collaborative way. Everyone who walks in that room at Boys Town will be equals, all with good ideas, or they won’t be there,” he said.

A series of agreed-upon proposals to deal with the crisis situation will be in place by the end of December, he said.

“We don’t know what the solutions will be. We don’t have all the answers … but the stakeholders coming together, that’s the power of this.”

Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.