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Legislators plan hearing on safe haven issues

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By JOANNE YOUNG / Lincoln Journal Star

Wednesday, Oct 08, 2008 - 12:46:13 am CDT

The question has become much bigger than whether the state should have a safe haven for unwanted infants.

With nine families so far having taken advantage of a safe haven law that allows them to abandon older children at Nebraska hospitals, state senators want to hear from the public and professionals.

To that end, Sen. Brad Ashford, chairman of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee and Sen. Joel Johnson, chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, will oversee a hearing next month regarding the safe haven law.

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The joint hearing will allow the public to comment on the use of LB157 by parents and guardians since the bill became effective on July 18, and possible amendments to the statute.

People can also talk about the resources available to children living in crisis, the process a parent or guardian must undertake to access available services, and suggested changes to Nebraska’s child protection system.

“There are so many stakeholders in this issue,” Ashford said.

He expects the hearing to begin the discussions, but solutions will not come quickly, he said.

“This is not an easy fix,” he said.

Many of the families using the law have been in the system a long time and are being referred to the safe haven solution by mental health professionals, Ashford said.

The Legislature needs to hear from those providers and from families as to why they can’t access existing services, he said.

These are not political issues, he said, and the solutions will require some deep thinking.

The hearing will be Nov. 13 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 1113 of the State Capitol.

Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.


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about time wrote on October 8, 2008 7:36 am:
" This took long enough for them to realize that they needed to meet on this. I say scrap the whole law. Then whenthey come back to seesionthey can work it getting it done right.Oh and Sen Howard should not be allowed to vote on any part of it since she never saw a problem with law after the problems started. "

 A positive step wrote on October 8, 2008 8:07 am:
" This is a positive step in that a state official recognizes there is more to the problem and that it can't be solved by just telling parents and family members that "this is not what the law was intended for." I hope that the governor and his administrators will quit living in denial and realize their Health and Human Services may save money for the state, but it doesn't really help children or families in general. "

 Wasting Time wrote on October 8, 2008 9:14 am:
" There is no need for hearings on this issue, change the law. This was hashed over, discussed and discussed again to make this silly version of the law no.

So it is this simple, go in, change the age and pass the law. And people wonder why people don't vote. It is because they do not want to be associated with the election of an idiot. "

 Shelly wrote on October 8, 2008 10:13 am:
" I don't think it needs to be changed at all. Let the parents drop off their bratty misbehaving teens. That way maybe they will learn they need to change their attitude! "

 No lets keep it wrote on October 8, 2008 10:58 am:
" so all of us rich taxpayers can pay for all the kids some parents shouldn't have had in the first place. "

 BYOB wrote on October 8, 2008 11:54 am:
" " Be careful " The state of Nebraska says a parent is responsible for a child untill they are 19 years old. So, a child is a child from birth to 18 years old. Well Mr. Legislater, just who do you think you are? the state of Nebraska has clearly stated what a child is, are you going to tell us children deserve different treatment because of their age? If you make a new law after the fact then parents can't be held accountable for children either. If you make an age change, the state will be saying in essance that children after a certain age are not worthy of protection by the state of Nebraska and if the state is not held accountable for children of a certain age group, how is it that anyone thinks a parent or guardian CAN be held accountable for that child? If a person can't feed or care for a child, they need help NOW, not 100 yards of red tape and court hearings. Quit listening to the news media and just leave this law alone. "

 michelle wrote on October 8, 2008 3:47 pm:
" Maybe instead of making any changes when parents of teens should be put in direct contact with an agency that is willing to help immediatly. What some people dont understand is that some kids get out of control and you dont have anywhere to turn. My son is almost 13 and is taller than I am. I can still take him down to the ground when we are play fighting, but there will come a day where he can take me down. I am a single mom who gets no support from my ex so where would I turn should I need help if my son turns bad on me? "

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