What Is Up With Nebraska?
I have been watching a sequence of stories coming out of Nebraska with some confusion. It almost looks like that state has become a willing dumping-ground for teenagers whose parents are too exasperated to deal with them. Eighteen kids of various ages have been dropped off at hospitals in that state, including two from states other than Nebraska. An article in today's Los Angeles Times does give a bit more information.
A Michigan mother drove roughly 12 hours to Omaha so she could abandon her 13-year-old son at a hospital under the state's unique safe-haven law, Nebraska officials said Monday.
The boy from the Detroit area is the second teenager from outside Nebraska and the 18th child overall abandoned in the state since the law took effect in July. ...
Nebraska's safe-haven law is unlike similar laws in that it allows anyone, not just a parent, to drop off a child, of any age, at any state-licensed hospital without fear of prosecution for abandonment. The law doesn't absolve anyone of charges such as abuse or neglect.
The law is indeed unlike other states' laws, it is much more expansive. Most of these laws were designed to protect newborns when mothers simply cannot handle the responsibilities of motherhood. Nebraska's law, however, seems to be directed to all children who might be in danger of abuse or neglect. The parents of the eighteen kids dumped off apparently have found that to be a useful excuse:
In Nebraska, several of the parents or guardians who have left children cited behavioral problems. [Emphasis added]
So, if the child (from infancy to teenage years) misbehaves often enough and annoyingly enough, the parent can simply drop them off at the nearest hospital. I never had kids, so I suppose I'm not exactly an expert, but it just seems to me that a less drastic approach than throwing the kids away might be in order. Most cities and states have child and family agencies which provide counseling and teach parenting skills. For those parents truly overwhelmed, something short of child disposal ought to be available
I think maybe Nebraska ought to reconsider the breadth of that new law.
A Michigan mother drove roughly 12 hours to Omaha so she could abandon her 13-year-old son at a hospital under the state's unique safe-haven law, Nebraska officials said Monday.
The boy from the Detroit area is the second teenager from outside Nebraska and the 18th child overall abandoned in the state since the law took effect in July. ...
Nebraska's safe-haven law is unlike similar laws in that it allows anyone, not just a parent, to drop off a child, of any age, at any state-licensed hospital without fear of prosecution for abandonment. The law doesn't absolve anyone of charges such as abuse or neglect.
The law is indeed unlike other states' laws, it is much more expansive. Most of these laws were designed to protect newborns when mothers simply cannot handle the responsibilities of motherhood. Nebraska's law, however, seems to be directed to all children who might be in danger of abuse or neglect. The parents of the eighteen kids dumped off apparently have found that to be a useful excuse:
In Nebraska, several of the parents or guardians who have left children cited behavioral problems. [Emphasis added]
So, if the child (from infancy to teenage years) misbehaves often enough and annoyingly enough, the parent can simply drop them off at the nearest hospital. I never had kids, so I suppose I'm not exactly an expert, but it just seems to me that a less drastic approach than throwing the kids away might be in order. Most cities and states have child and family agencies which provide counseling and teach parenting skills. For those parents truly overwhelmed, something short of child disposal ought to be available
I think maybe Nebraska ought to reconsider the breadth of that new law.
Labels: Child Welfare
posted by Diane at 4:04 AM
2 Comments:
In at least the most notorious case, that of the guy who dropped off nine (?!) kids, he was a marginally crazy, bi-polar, schizo (etc) dude whose wife held the family together. She died of cancer and he knew he couldn't cope.
This of course is apart from the issue of whether ANYBODY should be having 9 kids...
They are in the process of revamping the law.
Buckeye, Dealer of Rare Coins
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