A reason we're not hearing from (at least one of) the kids themselves

Backtracking here a little, Saturday, the Wall Street Journal ran a major story on the Nebraska legalized abandonments, Safe Haven: a Mother's Agonizing Choice.

The article provides more information about some of the kids from the parents' perspective.

As for the kids themselves, the article contains a small but critically important detail that may explain part of the reason the directly affected kids' voices in all this have been so absent.

In Tyler's case at least, he is effectively shut up by conditions the state has put upon his placement:

After staying at a youth shelter, Tyler was recently sent by the state to live with a relative on his father's side. The relative declined to allow the child to be interviewed, saying it was a condition of Tyler's placement with his family. State officials also declined to make Tyler available.

(emphasis added)