Strollerderby : child abandonment

If You Don't Behave, We'll Send You to Nebraska!

Kate Tuttle — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:34:00 GMT

Now that it's decided to add an age limit to its "safe haven" law, Nebraska is bracing for another rush of abandoned teens, left there by parents who say they just can't handle their children anymore. Originally intended to provide a safe place for parents (usually teen mothers) to drop off newborns, the law was meant to curb neglect, abuse and infanticide. But its unintended consequence has been to enshrine Nebraska as the place to bring -- and leave -- your troubled older child. According to reports from the state's Department of Health and Human Services, 28 of the 34 kids left at hospitals under the new law have been older than ten.

From the CNN article:

State Sen. Tom White said lawmakers have been caught off-guard by the number of teenagers taken in under the law. "What you've seen is an extraordinary cry for help from people all across the country," White said. "Nebraska can't afford to take care of all of them. Nebraska would like to be able to, but they know that we can't so we are going to have to change the law."

Lawmakers are meeting today to amend the law, adding an age limit to restrict the drop-offs to infants, particularly newborns. But it'll take a week or so for the new law to take effect, and that's what has Nebraska hospitals worried.

As the mother of a toddler and a teenager, I can testify that both try my patience on a daily basis, and both of them are relatively healthy and "normal," whatever that means. The children left at hospitals under the Nebraska law (most of them from Nebraska, but five from out of state) have, for the most part, suffered from some very serious problems -- most have received mental health servies, most have been incarcerated -- and their parents clearly were at the ends of some very long ropes. Still, it is almost impossible to imagine reaching a place where one would voluntarily give up one's child.

My fear, beyond the local and immediate one facing Nebraska officials right now, is that this is only going to get worse -- as our economic crisis deepens, as unemployment climbs, as insurance companies continue to inadequately support mental health services, more and more families will find themselves breaking under the strain. I'm glad Nebraska is rewriting its law to bring it back to the intended purpose. But I hope the new administration will be able to effect changes in our economy and society so that families of troubled older kids will be able to find their own safe havens.

Related: Morning News

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Teen Mom Turns Herself in to Safe Haven

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Just as Nebraska’s uniquely forgiving Safe Haven law is on the verge of being amended, a young mother makes a case for keeping it just the way it is. Currently, it’s legal to abandon children up to 18 years of age at a hospital. But since the law went into affect in July, so many teenagers (and zero babies) have been abandoned at hospitals that Nebraskan legislators are looking to revise the law so that it’s only applicable to infants who are three days old or younger.

But here’s an important use of the country’s only teen-inclusive safe-haven law that many hadn’t foreseen: a 16-year-old mom walked into an Omaha hospital, hoping to find a safe haven not only for her 10 month-old son, but for herself.

The young mother said that she had been physically and emotionally abused, and that her mother had kicked her out of the house. The teenager and her son are now in foster care, and her mother will most likely face prosecution.

Grandma Takes in Seven of Nine Abandoned Kids

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Photo: Huffington Post

Grandma Takes In 7 of 9 Abandoned Kids

JeanneSager — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:13:00 GMT

After a horrible year that included the loss of their mother and the abandonment of their father, the Straton kids of Nebraska got a break this week - from Grandma.

Joanne Manzer welcomed seven of her 10 grandchildren into her home after nine were abandoned at an Omaha hospital by their father, Gary Straton, under Nebraska's widely criticized safe haven law. Two other Straton kids opted for other homes so they didn't have to change school districts while a third is over 18 and already living on her own.

Straton spoke out last week after news broke of his decision to drop kids ranging in age from 1 to 17 at the hospital, stating the loss of his wife forced him to quit his job to take care of his kids. In turn, the loss of income made it tough to make ends meet, and Straton admitted he "fell apart." No wonder - it's the type of burden most of us can't imagine. But offers from family members that poured into the state after his story went public, and Manzer's offer to house the kids temporarily (they're still, technically, in state custody) makes me wonder: where were they the last few months? A father of 10 loses his wife, is forced to quit his job, worries about the rent, and the family just stands by? Did he refuse their help or was none ever offered? Was this grandmother in so much pain from the loss of her daughter (or daughter-in-law?) that she was blind to the problems?

This story and that of a mom reunited with her daughter after dropping the pregnant teen at another have put into perspective just how desperate the measures sometimes need to be to make up for desperate times.

Source: Associated Press

Image: Virtual Tourist

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Mom Abandons Son At Airport

Amy S.F. Lutz — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:04:00 GMT

So, it was kind of funny when the Filipino family immigrating to Canada forgot their toddler in the airport. I mean, funny in a greatest-brain-cramps-in-history kind of a way. Funny in a thank-god-he's-fine-but-we'll-be-telling-this-story-at-his-wedding kind of a way.

But there's nothing funny about Jolanda Newberg, who deliberately abandoned her 12-year-old son, Brandon, during a layover at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Friday.

Imagine how that poor kid felt, walking out of the bathroom and waiting for his mom, who said she would meet him there, but never came back. I wonder how long he waited before he found airport security.

Police found Newberg Saturday morning, 20 hours after she disappeared. They have no idea where she went during that time, but she was picked up at the airport rental car center. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation - which, if you ask me, is a good call. Obviously, any mom who would put her child through that kind of trauma must be mentally ill.

AP Photo