OMAHA - When Nebraska lawmakers passed a "safe-haven" law that allowed parents to abandon children as old as 19, they never seriously thought such dropoffs would become common.
Nebraska safe-haven law sorely tested
September 27, 2008 at 1:47AM
But their worst fears have come true: At least 16 children, some of them teenagers, have been abandoned since the law took effect in July. Now elected officials are considering revising the law, and at least one anguished parent said he only surrendered his kids because he felt he had no choice.
Todd Landry, director of the division of Children and Family Services, said the safe-haven law was designed to help children who are in danger, but none of the kids who were dropped off had been in harm's way.
Landry said he empathizes with parents who struggle to raise their families, but "it is the job of a parent to be a parent." He said there are resources to help them.
James Blue, president and CEO of the Lincoln-based nonprofit Cedars, which works with abused and neglected children, said he's been inundated with calls ever since the safe-haven law took effect. He said the group gets more than 10 calls a day from parents, and its shelter is at its capacity of 15.
"While this [law] has, I think, exposed an underbelly of our society of families that are dropping teenagers off forever at a hospital, it has also given a message to families that there is help out there," Blue said.
He said it's important for the state to have a safe-haven law, but there needs to be an age limit for the children who are left behind.
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