Safe Haven Or Last Resort?

CBS Evening News: Law Designed To Protect Babies Lets Parents Drop Off Teens

(CBS)  Every state has a so-called "Baby Moses" law to protect unwanted infants.

Hospitals have become safe havens for parents to leave children without repercussions. But only Nebraska's new law sets no age limit, CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports, and the state became a national dumping ground for abandoned toddlers, tweens - even teens.

Tysheema Brown had to lock up her valuable from her own son, a troubled 12-year-old who'd been expelled from two schools.

So she drove from Georgia to Nebraska, and left him at an Omaha hospital.

"I ran out of fight. I ran out of hope," Brown said. "But I never ran out of love for my child."

In three months, 34 children from seven states were abandoned in Nebraska, and 28 of them were older than 10. Only one was an infant.

"The intent of the law was always the protection of newborns in immediate danger of being harmed," said Todd Landry, director of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Nebraska lawmakers are now considering whether to change the law and limit safe havens to infants up to three days old.

Every other state limits its safe havens to infants.

But some parents drove hundreds of miles to Nebraska in desperation. At home, often, they couldn't find help for older kids who had significant personal issues.

"One-in-five children in this country has an unmet mental health need," said MaryLee Allen of the Children's Defense Fund.

Tysheema Brown tried to get her son help.

"The system definitely failed," she said. "they do not care. They do not care."

To child advocates, Nebraska's dilemma spotlights a larger problem: protecting kids of all ages.

[possycat-2009]

Safe Haven. I just saw the news cast of a woman who drove all the way to Nebraska to drop off her TWELVE year old son. Then she said, "that THEY don''t care." I CAN''T BELIEVE I JUST SAW THIS! The mother doesn''t care. It is so sad to see people give up on their own kids because things get so hard. We are such a throw away society that this woman is throwing her own child away. TAKE RESPONSIBLITY! Shelley Healy Sandpoint, Idaho

[itgranny]

while some may say that the woman drove a long ways to "throw away" her child, others look at it as going great lengths to make sure the child gets a better chance than it would have with her.

What 18..19..20 year old would have ever thought that it would be so hard to raise a kids? I know i didn''t.

There isn''t a lot of support out there for people with older kids and their''s definately a stigma that if you have an out of control teen, you''re a bad parent which leads people to give up rather than seek out help.

Holier than thou attitudes are not going to work in this case. To some when you say "TAKE RESPONSIBLITY!" it does mean dropping them off because they''re at the end of their ropes and feel they may hurt their kid if they don''t do something.

We need to get a better support system for parents.

[downsteamjim]

I hope the Republican party drops off McCain there.

[mm334]

To Possycat: Did you not notice that woman was crying. She didn''t know what else to do. Raising children even with two parents is often very difficult, I know first hand. The mother probably doesn''t have health insurance and this was the only way she could get him help he needs. A 12 year old boy or girl is at a very difficult age. It is better that he is there, then out in the streets hurting himself or someone else. It''s always easy to point a finger of blame rather than face the truth that our society does not take care of those that are in need.

[wl7bzh]

Gee whillikers,

folks can''t understand why a parent would dump a child? You think maybe it might have something to do with it becoming practically illegal to discipline a child.

Maybe the old admonition to "spare the rod and spoil the child" was not completely invalid.

And no, you morons I am not referring to in vitro fertilization.

[miriambk]

It didn''t appear that the mother didn''t care, she simply ran out of options. I''d rather she dropped her child off at a hospital than dumping him out on the street. It seems that she did the most responsible thing that she could. And I agree with w17bzh; if people could discipline their children without the fear of legal action, situations like this would be few and far between, if not nearly non-existant!

[barbaram99]

I was dumped at 5 and the year owas 1959.I spent my life in foster homes. It was hell. Mum did so to plasese her 2rd husband who told her he would not raise another man children. I am 54,Debby 52 Phil,Jr 50. I have never seen Phil Jr As he was an infent and Debby was 3 . I was born legally blind. i NEVER HAD CHILDREN FOR HEATLE REASONS. Mum was 17 when had me. Foster Mums.I can''t count how many over the years. i PITY THE DUMPED KIDS AND NOT THE PARENTS.