Parents: tired of dealing with unruly teens? Wish you could just drop him or her off and be done with it?
Well, because of a poorly worded safe haven law in Nebraska, people are doing just that:
Nebraska's vaguely worded safe-haven law has already been exposed as ripe for abuse by allowing kids as old as 18 to be abandoned by their parents, but a new problem cropped up when a 14-year-old Iowa girl was brought across the Missouri River and left at an Omaha hospital.
The teenager left at Creighton University Medical Center on Tuesday -- the 17th child abandoned since Sept. 13 -- came from Council Bluffs, Iowa, which sits just east across the river from Nebraska's largest city. [...]
State Sen. Arnie Stuthman of Platte Center, who introduced legislation that was the basis for the law, has said he initially intended to protect infants from immediate danger. Senators who pushed for the law's expansion have said they intended to help a broader age range, imagining a toddler or other young child needing help. They didn't expect parents to drop off older children who, they said, are more likely to escape a dangerous situation.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ne-safehaven,0,6599564.story
Its a typical law that was a good idea but is being used in ways that it wasn't meant to used.
Meetings are happening, a special legislative session has been considered.
One parent dropped off 9 children. Fortunately an extended member of the family took the children in.
We are unique that we have a unicameral which is nonpartisan, but sometimes a good intentioned bill can have negative consequences.
Good news will come from this though. More options for parents that cannot handle their children are being exposed and considered to help such situations.
Still, it is nice to have gained such attention. A friend heard a morning radio show making fun of us as rednecks in Alabama. That one kinda hurt ;)