30-day age limit on haven law advances in Legislature:
It seems that the Nebraska Legislature is leaning towards a 30-day limit for their new and improved safe haven law. This is expected to be law come Friday.
There were actually some people who wanted the law to remain wide open. The law was originally designed to prevent baby dumping but the way it was written Nebraska it led to lazy parenting in my opinion.
so… just to be clear – are you anti or pro safe haven laws? I agree that they provide an easy way out for people to avoid responsibility – but surely they save lives, and avoid abortions?
I am very pro safe haven. I just think Nebraska’s was a joke. I don’t think one infant was dropped off.
I don’t think it should have been closed until the law had remained as was long enough for a statistical evaluation as to whether or not it correlated with a drop in child abuse cases. I can not imagine how any parent could leave their child, but I also cannot imagine how any parent could abuse a child. Just as allowing infants to be dropped of decreased the rate of “dumpster babies”, allowing older children to be dropped off may have decreased the rate of children being beaten or killed by their parents.
older kids?!?!?!
How old?
I thought that safe haven laws were for new borns only?????
Nebraska’s law had no age limit. 17-year-olds from other states were being dropped off. Trench has plenty of posts on the problem here and on thetrenchcoat.com .
I agree that safe haven laws should be for newborns only. Basically just for those who have hidden their pregnancy because they perceive that they do not have any way to deal with the pregnancy and baby in any normal way. Its not a great option because it means the parents have no way to change their minds but its better than the baby ending up dead or in many cases in earlier times a newborn never being able to be adopted by anyone because there was no way to terminate the parental rights (although I believe now after a certain amount of time there are mechanisms to terminate parental rights when the parents are unknown).
However while Safe Haven laws should not apply to older babies and other kids it has got to be made easier for parents to get assistance they need (parenting help, financial help, emotional help, etc). And it has to be easier for parents to get temporary care for their kids when they need it.
My mom’s friend almost lost custody of her child because she tried to turn the child over to children’s services so she could check herself into the psychiatric ward because the out patient “free” care she was entitled to wouldn’t return her calls. She couldn’t leave her child with her parents as they were addicts AND child abusers. I’m unclear why she didn’t leave her child with my mom, maybe my mom said no; maybe she thought that with no way to get papers drawn up to assign temporary guardianship to my mom that wasn’t an option. Yes she should have been monitored to ensure she was stable enough to care for her child, but the she didn’t need to be threatened with being charged with neglect. In the end she didn’t get anyone to care for her child, I’m glad one or both didn’t end up dead or injured.
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