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Safe Haven law backfires - Black Landlord - 11-22-2008
This just blows me away-- Nebraska enacted a safe haven law and instead of newborns people used it to dump children up to 17.
Sorry if this is old to some- it's the first I've caught of it.
Neb. gov. signs bill on safe-haven age limit
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has signed a bill that adds a 30-day age limit to a safe-haven law led to the abandonment of nearly three dozen children, including some teenagers as old as 17. The law goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
Heineman signed the bill on Friday afternoon without fanfare and did not immediately issue a statement on the law.
The Legislature, meeting in special session, gave its final approval earlier Friday.
Nebraska has been the only safe-haven law in the country without an age limit. Designed to prevent newborns from being dumped in trash bins or worse, the law instead led to the drop-off of 35 children since September, none of them infants.
They have mostly been preteens and teenagers as old as 17.
Re: Safe Haven law backfires - Stizzealth - 11-22-2008
Who would dump their teenager off for the government?
Major dick move.
Re: Safe Haven law backfires - AlphaDog - 11-22-2008
The whole thing provides a pretty sad commentary on the availability of support to families, doesn't it? I no longer remember the details about all of the older children who were left at hospitals, but I seem to remember that one of them was a child in need of mental health services but those services weren't accessible in the home state for some reason.
Re: Safe Haven law backfires - BigGuynRusty - 11-22-2008
Very sad, but also funny as hell.
Who didn't see this coming?
Lot of folks don't wanna be responsible, see the kids as a burden.
Also, a lot of parents don't apply structure and discipline till the kids are in their teens, about thirteen years too late!
BGnR
Re: Safe Haven law backfires - mattkime - 11-22-2008
when does the 30 days start?
Re: Safe Haven law backfires - swampy - 11-22-2008
AD.. I think you are right. I recently read of a single mom with a bi-polar, drug abusing son who was physically abusing her and his siblings (set his sister's hair on fire while she was sleeping). She had tried every avenue but the legal, medical and judicial bureaucracies gave her no help. She had taken restraining orders, but if she called the cops for help, they'd tell her the kid was a minor and not much they could do... yadda yadda.
Had a sister in much the same situation. The nearest psychiatrice care facility for minors is 80 miles away. The county has an arrangement with them to take their cases, but there is a 3 patient limit. The fourth child goes without care until there is a vacancy. Stand in line, wait your turn and hope that the kid doesn't kill someone or himself in the mean time. It took my sister almost two years fighting the legal system and child welfare case workers, but she finally was able to get Jason declared an adult (at age 16.8) so that he would be eligible for adult care. Again, single mom, 3 kids, school teacher who's insurance didn't cover mental illness. Typical story.
I can see how parents can become desperate enough to drop kids off. For most it's probably a last resort.
Re: Safe Haven law backfires - Spock - 11-22-2008
swampy wrote:
AD.. I think you are right. I recently read of a single mom with a bi-polar, drug abusing son who was physically abusing her and his siblings (set his sister's hair on fire while she was sleeping). She had tried every avenue but the legal, medical and judicial bureaucracies gave her no help. She had taken restraining orders, but if she called the cops for help, they'd tell her the kid was a minor and not much they could do... yadda yadda.
Had a sister in much the same situation. The nearest psychiatrice care facility for minors is 80 miles away. The county has an arrangement with them to take their cases, but there is a 3 patient limit. The fourth child goes without care until there is a vacancy. Stand in line, wait your turn and hope that the kid doesn't kill someone or himself in the mean time. It took my sister almost two years fighting the legal system and child welfare case workers, but she finally was able to get Jason declared an adult (at age 16.8) so that he would be eligible for adult care. Again, single mom, 3 kids, school teacher who's insurance didn't cover mental illness. Typical story.
I can see how parents can become desperate enough to drop kids off. For most it's probably a last resort.
Thank you Swampy, I think we've found the Poster Child for universal health care.
Re: Safe Haven law backfires - AlphaDog - 11-22-2008
I spent almost three decades around kids from families that pretty much ran the continuum in terms of "least responsible" to "most responsible." BGnR is right to a degree, and there are some kids who are simply driven crazy by their own parents, although sometimes that comes about as a result of too much "discipline" as opposed to too little. But there are other kids whose problems defy intervention by even the most responsible and consistent parents.
What did stick out as being very obvious was the number of kids and families who were stuck in the middle in terms of financial resources for getting help. If a family is poor enough, this state has the ability to provide tons of help. If a family is rich enough, they can buy the best private help available. Unfortunately, too many wind up in that huge gap in the middle where swampy's sister apparently landed. They make too much to qualify for state help and not enough to be able to afford to buy the good treatment. I sure don't know what the answer is, but I hope somebody comes up with something, and the sooner the better.
Yes, Nebraska should have been able to anticipate this, but maybe - just maybe! - the fact they didn't will serve as a wake up call. We can laugh at them and make them the butt of jokes, but if their experience causes something to come about to address this issue, we'll all be better off.
Re: Safe Haven law backfires - mikeylikesit - 11-22-2008
I remember how cantankerous, rebellious and resentful I was as a young teen -- it's a wonder I lived through it. Combine that adolescent predisposition with mental health issues, toss in a lack of resources and it's not that hard to see why some adults just can't cope.
This country needs an effective national health plan, one that covers everyone regardless of income. It's not the kids fault their parents don't have health care coverage.
edit: to add a comma (why do I need to explain this?)
Re: Safe Haven law backfires - swampy - 11-22-2008
No need to explain your edit to me, Mikey.