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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Two Children Left At Hospitals Under 'Safe Haven' Law |
| 2008-09-16 |
| OMAHA, Neb. -- The family of a 15-year-old boy who was left at a Lincoln hospital under the state's Safe Haven law said leaving him there was their last hope. The boy's aunt said she and his guardian have tried everything -- medication, psychiatrist, therapy and other methods. "We had to go to the next level," said Cathy Poulin. "He can be made to get help." Poulin said the boy's mother, her sister, died several years ago. His father left him, she said, and the boy has been living with several other relatives for years. He's heading down a dangerous path, she said. The Safe Haven law was intended for newborns. Nebraska is the only state where the law prevents penalty for the abandonment of youths up to 19 years old. A grandmother left an 11-year-old boy at Immanuel Hospital in Omaha last weekend. But these cases represent a misuse of the law, said Department of Health and Human Services worker Todd Landry. "Neither of these kids were in danger of being harmed themselves," Landry said. Senator Arnie Struthman and the DHHS will review the law and make amendments where necessary to prevent hospitals from being overrun by children who are not in immediate danger. |
| Posted by:Beavis |
| #6 There's a nice military school just down the road that would be happy to help lil' junior learn some of life's lessons. |
| Posted by: rammer 2008-09-16 21:39 |
| #5 If teens want to "go bad" they will. And there's nothing you can do about it for the reasons already brought up. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2008-09-16 17:28 |
| #4 I guess the question would be was it possible for the family to take him somewhere else, like social services. They could not handle him and they did not want him. It seems no one else did either. It's sad, but it does seem that in a day and age where the state will prosecute parents if they use the "wrong" type of discipline the state will have to step in and take over for parents who don't know how to control a child. |
| Posted by: Betty Grating2215 2008-09-16 13:11 |
| #3 Being charged with felony child abuse for failing to care for a relative, especially those with special needs or behavioral disorders, is just plain wrong, too. It is punishing people for others' choices. |
| Posted by: Danielle 2008-09-16 12:08 |
| #2 You know, this actually is a serious problem. Seems like lots of people have pretty major difficulties with their teen kids. The parents can't get the teens to act properly but also can't kick them out and are still responsible for them. Not sure how to handle that one. The old ways, which usually involved some type of physical interaction, will now only end up getting the parent placed in jail. Very tough situation. |
| Posted by: Jolutch Mussolini7800 2008-09-16 11:53 |
| #1 But, but, but he was being a Butthead. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2008-09-16 11:06 |