Nebraska's Safe Haven Law Questioned

(CBS)  In the past decade, all 50 states have passed some kind of "safe haven" law that permits the parents or guardians of newborns to turn over children to the state by literally dropping them off at a hospital or a police station.

The movement has saved more than 1,000 children, according to the National Safe Haven Alliance. But when Nebraska became the last state to adopt a safe haven law this year, it led to some unintended consequences, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallace.

The flurry of young children - and teenagers - dropped off at hospitals and police stations caught Nebraska officials by surprise, 18 since the law took effect three months ago. One overwhelmed Nebraska widower dropped off nine kids ranging from 20 months to 17-years-old. Then, grandparents of a 14-year-old from Iowa and a Michigan mother of an adopted 13-year-old left the children at Omaha hospitals.

"The law needs to be changed," says Todd Landry, director of the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services. "We need to get back to the intent of the law, and the intent of the law was always the protection of newborns in immediate danger of being harmed."

Nebraska's safe haven law is the only one in the nation that doesn't set an age limit. For example, 15 states accept infants up to 3-days-old. Fourteen states set the age limit at one-month-old, and only two states accept children up to a year old.

"These were laws that were put in place to try and prevent infanticide and to address the tragedies where a parent feels she has no alternative but to abandon her child in a trash can," says Mary Lee Allen, of the Children's Defense Fund.

But the laws don't always prevent those tragedies, Wallace reports. One week ago in Maryland, a day-old baby was discovered in a black bag abandoned in a field. She died.

Safe haven laws generally promise parents or guardians anonymity and no criminal charges, as long as the child hasn't been abused. The head of child welfare in New Jersey, where infants up to a month old are accepted, says those rules are essential.

"Our motto is 'no shame, no blame, no names'," says Kimberly Ricketts, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. "Since enactment of the law in August of 2000, we have had 37 safe surrenders."

In Nebraska, state legislators are planning to amend the law.

"We need to look at, you know, what we can do for these older children other than having them dropped off at the hospital," says Arnie Stuthman, a state senator.

Child advocates say government can provide more services for families without health insurance or whose insurance lacks mental health coverage.

"These are children with serious behavioral and emotional problems who need mental health treatment," Allen said. "One out of five children in this country has an unmet mental health need, and about only one in five of those children get any sort of treatment."

Nebraska's Department of Health and Human Services says 16 of the dropped off children remain in state custody and are receiving a variety of treatment in foster care and other residential settings.

[wolfear1]

all liberal plans starts just fine...then it always end in a runnaway disaster
Posted by libluv2spit at 12:37 AM : Oct 20, 2008
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Actually I live just outside of Omaha, NE and I hate to break this news to you but the NE legislature is predominantly Rep. The original plan which was put forth by a Dem was the same as most other states and covers newborns. Then there were the Rep. that would only vote for a bill that would cover all children. So this was a good Dem. idea that got completely screwed up when the Rep. got ahold of it.

[runningralph]

Eighteen is not many. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Not many were on welfare in the beginning. In a few years 30 to 40 per cent of all children in the Midwest will be in this program in Nebraska. The smart thing for surrounding states would be to stop all welfare and provide bus rides to Nebraska.

[upto1947]

Better for the kids to be some where other than with someone who does not want them.

[lorenzen6]

The United States needs to provide alternatives for unwanted children of all ages. I applaud Nebraska for assisting in this silent problem that sends hundreds of teenagers into the streets where many of them have to do terrible things just to survive. this has been a problem for years and years.

[upto1947]

The only thing I have read here. How sick some peole are.

[slim1h2o]

According to the article, and Nebraska, an 11 or a 8 yr yr old doesn''t deserve the same protections as a new born does.

[kurlikew]

Personally I think the "safe haven" laws, while they do protect the baby, thankfully, only further encourage the parent to be irresponsible. If you don''t want the baby (didn''t you know how to say "birth control"?), then tell the hospital, and let them arrange for adoption. There''s no excuse in the world for just dumping a baby off like that, or for harming it just because you don''t want the responsibility. It seems the concept of "personal responsibility" is non-existent in today''s world.

Secondly, these older kids with "unmet mental health needs" will simply be put on dangerous psychotropic drugs, which is about the worst thing you can do for them. So, if you''re abandoning your parental responsibility by dumping these kids, don''t think for a minute that any safe, effective treatments will be given to them by the state. These kids don''t need drugs; more than anything, they need love and attention, along with a PROPER DIET!

[carlylaine]

A classic example as libluv2spit states so well everything the liberal plans does to control always backfires...then they want to pedal like mad to get out of a situation. Are they so ignorant that they didn''t see where their well-devised plans can go?

I think the number of children being dropped off is quite small. Eighteen children out of how many in that area? At least, these kids aren''t being starved or any manner abused.

The parents had safe place to take their children when they were overwhelmed. Suck it up. If you didn''t foresee this happening then that most certainly shows your short-sightedness. If you did foresee this....just take the kids and hopefully they will have a good life and---or foster parents.

[missingamerica]

Someday you will be rewarded, liberals, for providing something for people like "libluv2spit" to hate and so preventing that hate from being turned against the innocents that they run across in their everday lives.

If not in this life, then the next.

[faithisinu]

With all the improvements in creature comforts advances in the field of science, technology, medicine etc the human conditions is still very ill

The flurry of young children - and teenagers - dropped off at hospitals and police stations caught Nebraska officials by surprise, 18 since the law took effect three months ago.

18 may not side like a big number but if you were one of those 18, one is too many

Very sad