Latest News 2008 October Are Parents Abusing Nebraska's Safe Haven Laws?

Are Parents Abusing Nebraska's Safe Haven Laws?

According to the Associate Press, an Iowa teenager who was abandoned at an Omaha, Nebraska hospital on Tuesday is back at home after her grandparents changed their minds about giving her up.  This is just the latest case in a string of child abandonments in Nebraska that have occurred since the state enacted its new child safe-haven laws in July.

Nebraska's newly written safe-haven laws absolve a parent or legal guardian of abandonment charges for leaving a child of any age at a state-licensed hospital. However, concerns have been raised over whether the broadly written laws could increase the rate of child abandonment.

The 14-year-old girl, who is actually from a city in Iowa just across the river, was left at Creighton University Medical Center. But she is not the first child to be abandoned since the new safe-haven laws took effect. In fact, 16 other children have been dropped off and abandoned at hospitals under the new laws since July.

As a result of the number of children who have been abandoned since the laws have been in place, there has been a growing concern that the laws give parents and caregivers an excuse to abandon their children when times are tough.

The laws were initially created to protect newborn infants whose parents could not or did not want to take care of them. Instead of leaving the baby in a dumpster, as was common for a long period of time, the parents can drop off the baby at a safe-haven shelter or state-licensed hospital without fear of legal repercussion. But because the new law does not specify an age limit, parents have begun dropping off teenagers and older children. Furthermore, there are no stipulations that prevent parents living in other states from traveling to Nebraska to drop off their children.

"It really concerns me that (people from) other states are possibly going to be leaving their children here," said Nebraska State Senator Arnie Stuthman, who introduced the bill that was the basis for the new laws.

Nebraska lawmakers aren't schedule to reconvene until January, when they plan to revisit the legislation and discuss making some changes to it.   

For now, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services has urged that the law should only be used for children who are in real, imminent danger. According to the Associate Press, Nebraska state officials have encouraged parents to seek other resources before turning to abandonment, such as community services, faith-based organizations, and family and friends.  

As for the grandparents of the abandoned teenager, no legal action will be taken at this time in Nebraska. Brenda Beadle, a chief deputy in the Douglas County attorney's office in Nebraska, said the decision to not press charges was made in part because the grandparents wanted the girl back. The grandparents also assured officials that they had the help and assistance they needed to continue to care for the girl and welcome her back home.  

"Given that the family lives in Iowa and had resources in place, it seemed like the appropriate thing to do," said Beadle.

The Iowa Department of Human Services will conduct its own case into the matter as needed.

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Categories: Family Law

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