tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82180434368887727782024-03-13T03:48:46.583-04:00CHILDREN OF THE CORNReporting, Theory,and Opinion on Legalized Child Dumping in NebraskaMarley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-86375693257229587572010-02-27T16:57:00.001-05:002010-02-27T16:58:48.007-05:00First Catch of the Season: Anonymous Identified Baby Dumped by Anonymous Identified Mom in Nebraska (?)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rBS4HsBjC-CsSm-ztPlV3bmfcTWyu508r9tuP7SqdWWkI7A0F14iyErnqCe2ngz3lpK_7eMgO_OoWUbvUl7yoPoQE3Rh_WjZSWmVEfK3T9AWdkOAuAoGLbcJrESlZaceNZD7EKBTzk8/s1600-h/catch_of_the_day.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rBS4HsBjC-CsSm-ztPlV3bmfcTWyu508r9tuP7SqdWWkI7A0F14iyErnqCe2ngz3lpK_7eMgO_OoWUbvUl7yoPoQE3Rh_WjZSWmVEfK3T9AWdkOAuAoGLbcJrESlZaceNZD7EKBTzk8/s200/catch_of_the_day.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443038064338221266" border="0" /></a>Nebraska has its first catch of the season!<br /><br />Last Wednesday a perfectly safe, healthy, and possibly identified newborn was saved from the jaws of the trash compactor when she was dumped off "anonymously" at the Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff. According to news reports, two women (KNEB says they were "a <span class="articleText">young girl and an older woman') </span> dropped off the infant at the ER counter. The women according to reports, spoke briefly to the admissions clerk "but gave little information." <a href="http://www.omaha.com/article/20100226/NEWS01/702269871/0/FRONTPAGE">But maybe enough</a>:<br /><br />[Police Capt. Kevin] <span style="font-style: italic;">Spencer said police were checking on the welfare of the mother, who was believed not to have received medical care after giving birth. Criminal charges were not being considered against the woman, who probably gave birth at home.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.kneb.com/news/index/532d0878-8cdd-4280-96c9-afaa45eba033">KNEB</a> (Scottsbluff) filed a slightly different report:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;" class="articleText">Helser says the mother and father of the child, and the baby's exact birth date, is unknown. Scottsbluff Police, worried about the welfare of the mother, have encouraged the public to provide information to help locate her. Police don't believe she received any medical care while delivering the child</span><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><br /><br />Over on <a href="http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=12046963">Nebraska Television</a>, Beth Baxter, from the Orwellian-sounding <a href="http://www.region3.net/">Region 3 Behavioral Health Services</a>, sort of tsks tsks Nebraska's "safe haven" law (but not enough to offend her corporate state superiors), saying that legalized anonymous dumping is "usually never the families (sic) first choice." even if the state advertises it as the "loving option" for parents frothing with murderous intent. Then, she skips to pimping Nebraska's new Boystown-operated <a href="http://www.hhs.state.ne.us/newsroom/newsreleases/2009/Nov/helpline.htm">Family Help Line</a> "manned by professionals who can listen to the stories of the family and then refer them at the local level, so they can get the types of services and support they need."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMZLZHLE61UekVErldd5LLWsKFLJSJI0smdHukD45Aymy0bwY7L9MGPs6H4j-Z3hGKAUSEOT7fFTNZgU-kW3Fz6QDMkX5RDXoqqYl128eEQfUG27eKS3kEEULwmGMStdgN7wqSups0b8A/s1600-h/phone+counseling.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMZLZHLE61UekVErldd5LLWsKFLJSJI0smdHukD45Aymy0bwY7L9MGPs6H4j-Z3hGKAUSEOT7fFTNZgU-kW3Fz6QDMkX5RDXoqqYl128eEQfUG27eKS3kEEULwmGMStdgN7wqSups0b8A/s200/phone+counseling.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443037049709258562" border="0" /></a>You know. The same kind of "professionals" who advised parents and guardians to "legally abandon" their Big Kids during 2008's Nebraska Fiasco. In fact, for all we know, one of these "professionals" told mom and grandma, in appropriately and bureaucratically soothing tones, to drop off their 'lil dumpling at Regional West. It's our little state secret<br /><br />All news reports mention Nebraska's "first" (and only) catch last year under NuSaveHaven (SafeHaven .2), but fail to include that Baby Boy Ana's family retrieved him almost immediately from the no-shame-no-blame-no name-fast-track-anonymous-and-secret adoption spammer. We hope Baby Girl Regional West's mom does the same. But please, leave identity-erasing, irresponsible grandma back on the corn farm when you do it.<br /><br />In the past, Nebraska DHHS has sent out press releases on "safe havenings," but there's none on this one yet.<br /><br />Go to <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/">Children of the Corn</a> for a complete set of Nebraska Fiasco blogs by Baby Love Child and me with resources. I need to rework the stats, but everything else should be OK.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzEoVyBQ9oTII9DdYPaKGM13S18ewxBipEDtXEL_oVFkG5vXRFGCP1Gf6HrzQttE_tLytNThwDISwBbDxiUdjZVpsUQ5aBza0sLX0YNaaWOgPajM2J1fd3Qb9z65Q2OUYngnYyuRCd9s/s1600-h/gloor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzEoVyBQ9oTII9DdYPaKGM13S18ewxBipEDtXEL_oVFkG5vXRFGCP1Gf6HrzQttE_tLytNThwDISwBbDxiUdjZVpsUQ5aBza0sLX0YNaaWOgPajM2J1fd3Qb9z65Q2OUYngnYyuRCd9s/s200/gloor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443037639143518914" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">BONUS:</span> NTV included this fabulous quote from Nebraska Fiasco promoter Senator <a href="http://news.legislature.ne.gov/dist35/">Mike Gloor</a> taking pride in the now defunct Big Kid Dump law (SafeHaven.1)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I think that speaks very well about Nebraskans and the attitude the rest of the country has about Nebraskans. I think it's lost in this dialogue. I also think it speaks to our Midwest values. We have a focus on children and finds ways to provide those services to children.</span><br /><br />Gloor has a great future as Laura Silsby's speechwriter.<br /><br /><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><br /><div><a onmouseout="addthis_close()" id="data:post.url" onclick="return addthis_sendto()" name="data:post.title" onmouseover="return addthis_open(this, "><img alt="Bookmark and Share" style="border: 0pt none ;" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" height="16" width="125" /></a><br /><script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js?pub=xa-4a7e4c5a65fdafe6" type="text/javascript"></script></div><br /><!-- AddThis Button END -->Marley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-9230736648130020022009-08-19T22:25:00.011-04:002009-08-19T22:58:26.469-04:00BABY BOY ANA: HOME FOR GOOD!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5HLg6cf4F3PLvG8pHKzI31aOkAyz5g_4f0pYkYYFV1BxhxnSUlIhhram6mTOtrcy_24wxBNTadNOtRijeA6YmOI2mPgizNdvYo6SSPb0-JfOjHJYYj39fqqwdiMFoa4R8oRrjhb_jXOI/s1600-h/Baby+corn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 104px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5HLg6cf4F3PLvG8pHKzI31aOkAyz5g_4f0pYkYYFV1BxhxnSUlIhhram6mTOtrcy_24wxBNTadNOtRijeA6YmOI2mPgizNdvYo6SSPb0-JfOjHJYYj39fqqwdiMFoa4R8oRrjhb_jXOI/s200/Baby+corn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371871300030179682" border="0" /></a>Yesterday (August 18) Box Butte County Judge <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Charles</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Plantz</span> dismissed the Baby Boy Ana/Baby Box Butte case; thus affirming his earlier decision to return the baby to his family permanently. According to a statement by Todd <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Recklng</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">director</span> of the Nebraska Division of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Children</span> and Family Service, all parties to the case agreed to the dismissal. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><br /><br />Reckling's</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">statement</span> is not posted on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">DFS</span> Safe Haven or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">DFS</span> press <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">release</span> page. News reports, however, say that the parents, whose names remain confidential, will continue to work voluntarily with the department. The statement does not say what services they will use.<br /><br />Baby Boy Ana is the first infant dropped off under Nebraska's "new and improved" baby dump law. We hope he is the last. See the entries below for details on the case.<br /><br />If any more news on this case surfaces, we'll keep you updated. The most detailed account of yesterday's hearing (so far) can be found at the <a href="http://www.fremonttribune.com/articles/2009/08/19/ap-state-ne/ne_safe_haven.txt">Fremont Tribune</a>.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Welcome</span> home, Baby Boy Ana!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a onmouseover="return addthis_open(this, '', '[URL]', '[TITLE]')" onmouseout="addthis_close()" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=xa-4a7e4c064cfff9ea" onclick="return addthis_sendto()"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" style="border: 0pt none ;" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" height="16" width="125" /></a><script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js?pub=xa-4a7e4c064cfff9ea" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Marley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-17182060914699254312009-08-09T10:59:00.011-04:002009-08-10T19:27:36.327-04:00MORE DETAILS EMERGE ON BOX BUTTE CASE; LAWMAKERS STILL DON'T GET IT<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-5Fe2xG832-to_KkOHX7YspIIKC5y7SprNnJcya2EdIdOyl1LjBUgPY1Lveu89LhoSUX5sHoTqP16iYXaQef7jmImeWrA3PsedYDDTOU1TbHRtE8aBYdsk09kAwaALFReqzwqLhVXMM/s1600-h/baby+in+box.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-5Fe2xG832-to_KkOHX7YspIIKC5y7SprNnJcya2EdIdOyl1LjBUgPY1Lveu89LhoSUX5sHoTqP16iYXaQef7jmImeWrA3PsedYDDTOU1TbHRtE8aBYdsk09kAwaALFReqzwqLhVXMM/s200/baby+in+box.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367809874232784658" border="0" /></a><br />The August 4 <a href="http://www.journalstar.com/news/local/article_9cc46556-8154-11de-b106-001cc4c03286.html">Lincoln Journal Star</a> reported more details in the "safe haven" abandonment of Baby Box Butte, now known as Baby Boy Ana.<br /><br />According to court documents, recounted by reporter Joanne Young, but not released to the public:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">...show the baby boy still had a partial umbilical cord intact when dropped off by a woman who said she was the child's aunt. Without giving hospital staff her name or the mother's name, she provided some family medical history. </span><p style="font-style: italic;">Two days later, while HHS was working on placing the baby with foster parents who could adopt him, a woman contacted HHS, saying she was the biological mother. Officials met shortly after that with her and the alleged father, maternal grandparents and aunt...<br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;">...Court documents show the mother, whose name has not been made public, reported she had not known she was pregnant until she went into labor. </p><p style="font-style: italic;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHavTVyoZfZAzR6OwtOlPTrFygeZVSXW5tm0_GQS5pMF8lh0WgkXQnW1-_yWPVu_Gjj3zxMXlI28r7NaKYzP8nh7o2jquFmgU4ONZl9N_pAnRWU6ivGoODehST9k0D3omsefyPOJiPuM/s1600-h/negative.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHavTVyoZfZAzR6OwtOlPTrFygeZVSXW5tm0_GQS5pMF8lh0WgkXQnW1-_yWPVu_Gjj3zxMXlI28r7NaKYzP8nh7o2jquFmgU4ONZl9N_pAnRWU6ivGoODehST9k0D3omsefyPOJiPuM/s200/negative.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367971933916929746" border="0" /></a>She had started birth control, but had stopped after three months. She then noticed she was gaining weight, but never larger than "one size in jeans." She said she thought the "bloating" she was experiencing was from taking the birth control pill.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">She had a period after stopping the pill and another two months later, she reported.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">On July 20, she started cramping and felt the urge to push. That was when she realized she was pregnant, she said. She filled a bathtub with water, climbed in and delivered the baby. She sterilized a pair of scissors, cut the umbilical cord and used bobby pins to seal the ends.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">She reported she was scared and didn't know what to do next. She knew about the safe haven law, and asked her sister to take the baby to the hospital.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">At the meeting with the family, Mary <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Mockerman</span>, a nurse at the hospital, identified the aunt as the woman who brought the baby in. She had given the aunt her personal, unpublished cell phone number and said the call requesting the baby be returned to the mother came to that cell number.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">Dr. Bruce <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Forney</span>, an Alliance family practice physician, examined and confirmed the mother had recently given birth.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">The baby stayed at the hospital three nights, and both of the alleged parents visited the baby. The mother stayed at the hospital and began nursing the infant.</p>As discussed in our two previous entries, three days after his legal abandonment at Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance, Nebraska HHS and Box Butte County Judge Charles <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Plantz</span> placed Baby Boy Ana with his grandmother and mother while HHS continued its investigation. The baby's permanent placement with his family is contingent on HHS findings.<br /><br />Box Butte County Attorney Kathleen Hutchinson isn't pleased with the quick turn around. According to the same article, Hutchinson thinks the state needs to "step back and think about why the child was turned over to the state, and not rush into placement."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxV2obrTRYRnAp58waryKwQXjdf3VnROLahUoNSoM0eitE1XBo42T5d6Z7WFO6RifbwJp-KoH_JfPv9ssA0emzh4tinwz4B9pXG41d7fK5kNJxwPcOunofB47FzpgUHE-TwFpUCqLk82E/s1600-h/Mike+Flood.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 142px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxV2obrTRYRnAp58waryKwQXjdf3VnROLahUoNSoM0eitE1XBo42T5d6Z7WFO6RifbwJp-KoH_JfPv9ssA0emzh4tinwz4B9pXG41d7fK5kNJxwPcOunofB47FzpgUHE-TwFpUCqLk82E/s200/Mike+Flood.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367802249806797058" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Unicam</span> Speaker Mike Flood (<span style="font-style: italic;">left</span>) agrees. "We need to look at the broader picture for all children who find themselves in this unthinkable situation."<br /><br />Say what?<br /><br />Baby Boy Ana would not be in this "unthinkable situation" now if Flood, his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Unicam</span> cronies (such as Sen. Arnie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Struthman</span> who is thrilled that the law he sponsored and <a href="http://www.omaha.com/article/20090723/NEWS01/707239934">"hoped would never be used"</a> has been used), and outside agitators hadn't created this "unthinkable situation," first with LB 157 the Big Kids law, and later, it's aged down LB 1 Little Kids law.<br /><br />We don't remember anybody (with the possible exception of Nurse Mary <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Mockerman</span>) caring about what led up to Baby Boy Ana being turned over anonymously to the state and thrown into this "unthinkable situation" --until his family turned up to reclaim him from the loving arms of the state and his state-chosen adopters.<br /><br />Nobody cared about the "unthinkable situation" of the woman, alone and frightened, who gave birth to Baby Boy Ana or about how Baby Boy Ana's father's parental rights were being sideswiped in the new and improved Nebraska Kid Grab.<br /><br />We certainly don't remember Flood & Crew shedding tears, other than those of embarrassment, over the 50 Big Kids whose parents or guardians either dropped off or attempted to drop off at state approved dump sites during last year's Nebraska Fiasco.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Q2NbYuASJx3XAFkX-1R4I6It5Vy7AvyogUswL6juI2PhqzDTxI_1VNEUL4GFpYVrkkzmQjEczPuk9N8MtlxinWz7qKiVb04t4fOsqNgT6w6UrivQDkWFuGJpmgMv42zRd-t0zojp3Jg/s1600-h/car+race.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Q2NbYuASJx3XAFkX-1R4I6It5Vy7AvyogUswL6juI2PhqzDTxI_1VNEUL4GFpYVrkkzmQjEczPuk9N8MtlxinWz7qKiVb04t4fOsqNgT6w6UrivQDkWFuGJpmgMv42zRd-t0zojp3Jg/s200/car+race.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367807237630024274" border="0" /></a>None of these weepy crocks cared about the "broader picture" of how "all those children who find themselves in this unthinkable situation" felt last year about being shooed off into <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">ERs</span> courtesy of Nebraska's wacky lawmakers, while their families sped away from the parking lot under cover of law. Or how some of these parents and guardians in their own "unthinkable situation" were treated by HHS: portrayed as immature, uncaring, deadbeats, and criminals threatened with prosecution for following--sometimes on the advice of HHS employees--the letter of a two-sentence law that said it was legal and dandy for anyone to abandon anybody's kids of any age at government approved dump sites.<br /><br />Last year Flood & Crew had no problem with the state's quick return of out-of-state <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">dumpees</span>. Cross-border kids barely had time to unload their backpacks at over-crowded childrens shelters before they were volleyed back home to be somebody <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">else's</span> problem.<br /><br />And absolutely nobody cared about the speeding-bullet turn-around last November when the governor called a special session of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Unicam</span> to "re-evaluate" child grabbing in Nebraska. Instead of dismantling their fiasco and taking the time to work out real solutions for Nebraska's massive child mental health and welfare mess (which by the way does NOT include newborn discard) they zipped through a re-write turning the Big Kid Law into a Little Kid Law erasing the most silent and small from public and political sight and conscience and continuing Big Kid <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">limboland</span>.<br /><br />Baby dump addicts assume murder is the default solution for an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy. They have<span style=""> convinced lawmakers and the gulliable uninformed public that there are only two options: the dumpster or legalized abandonment. Responsible alternatives aren't mentioned: counseling, public assistance, temporary surrender, permanent surrender for adoption, and family communication. When a parent trips down the fast track without knowing those real alternatives, she (and it's almost always a she) is praised for her courage. That is, for not defaulting to her natural instincts of discard and death. When she makes the "loving" decision to not kill her baby and runs to the nearest legal dumping ground, she is praised for using the law "to save a life." But when she realizes her panicked mistake and wants her child back, she's considered dangerous. After all, any woman who "safe havens" her baby though the state-advertised, encouraged, and facilitated dump program is a potential killer.<br /><br />No one has argued that every newborn who is "safe <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">havened</span>" should be returned immediately upon request. Each case is unique. There is no indication in the Baby Boy Ana case that a quick return is not in the interest of everyone. Hospital staff, HHS, the baby's guardian<span style="font-style: italic;"> ad <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">litem</span>,</span> and the court agreed that the baby should go home immediately. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Hutchinson</span>, Flood and their ilk didn't learn a thing from the Nebraska Fiasco last year.<br /></span><br /><br /><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><br /><div><a onmouseout="addthis_close()" id="data:post.url" onclick="return addthis_sendto()" name="data:post.title" onmouseover="return addthis_open(this, "><img alt="Bookmark and Share" style="border: 0pt none ;" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif" height="16" width="125" /></a><br /><script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js?pub=xa-4a7e4c5a65fdafe6" type="text/javascript"></script></div><br /><!-- AddThis Button END -->Marley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-64356252037502697662009-07-31T22:45:00.011-04:002009-08-04T13:29:25.074-04:00MOTHER PANICKED, REGRETS "SAFE HAVEN:" 1ST POST-NEBRASKA FIASCO BABY GOING HOME<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAd0PB3MJs9fdKLjmGIthi8p3vHLB1bthd7fDtRiU6kuAO45huvGhgIbigiE-ijyLRqNbIWlMrv3Uk5o03wWe_0YqDALZuU2-gYQTk_QWz-w1g5uHAOHte0ZjYQl44X-Okmuj_r4QuO0c/s1600-h/baby+farm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAd0PB3MJs9fdKLjmGIthi8p3vHLB1bthd7fDtRiU6kuAO45huvGhgIbigiE-ijyLRqNbIWlMrv3Uk5o03wWe_0YqDALZuU2-gYQTk_QWz-w1g5uHAOHte0ZjYQl44X-Okmuj_r4QuO0c/s200/baby+farm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365536646373281570" border="0" /></a>Here's updates on the July 20 Box Butte baby dump case. (Go directly below this entry for entries posted by Baby Love Child and me on the case).<br /><br />Thursday and Friday news reports (<a href="http://www.omaha.com/article/20090731/NEWS01/707319939">here</a>, <a href="http://www.journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/article_2d56cc1c-7d45-11de-8c80-001cc4c002e0.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.kolnkgin.com/home/headlines/52099817.html">here</a>) circulated that the biological parents of the newborn had contacted authorities as early as July 22, to see about the return of the infant.<br /><br />Saturday, the <a href="http://www.starherald.com/articles/2009/08/01/news/local_news/doc4a73c09799d10934524931.txt">Alliance Star Herald</a> and <a href="http://www.omaha.com/article/20090801/NEWS01/708019943/-1/FRONTPAGE">Omaha World-Herald</a> gave details. The papers report that on July 22, two days after the baby was left at Box Butte General Hospital, the mother, her relatives, and the baby's father contacted the hospital, asking for the baby's return. The baby had been put on a routine 48-hour hold and officials were preparing to release him to a foster-to-adopt family. HHS, consequently, decided to keep the baby for another night at the hospital where both parents visited him, and the mother cared and stayed with him.<br /><br />Reports in both papers are substantially the same. The quote below is from the <span style="font-style: italic;">Alliance Star-Herald</span>, a more detailed account than appears in the <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">World-Herald</span></span>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBeK8nr7AsOa0BqfgKgd0gcVg3CUPCSR4bfffnEZCaeoJO-euXXUQ1-hH3t2ZYqiuG6JzykCT6IxuhO6RIHT5YwCxyfy5Zdfxf8iwWjQ6Ss_KJ23Tz2USBjV1OpPmQ8KS88pBBOJDzWqM/s1600-h/Butte+Gen+Hosp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBeK8nr7AsOa0BqfgKgd0gcVg3CUPCSR4bfffnEZCaeoJO-euXXUQ1-hH3t2ZYqiuG6JzykCT6IxuhO6RIHT5YwCxyfy5Zdfxf8iwWjQ6Ss_KJ23Tz2USBjV1OpPmQ8KS88pBBOJDzWqM/s200/Butte+Gen+Hosp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365524999503263202" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The biological parents of a baby boy abandoned under the state’s Safe Haven Act had asked for the baby to be returned after changing their minds about surrendering the child under the state’s Safe Haven law, according to court documents filed in Box Butte County Court.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">An aunt dropped off the baby boy July 20, according to officials with the Department of Health and Human Services. The baby was placed on a 48-hour hold by law enforcement, which is standard practice in cases until custody is established with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />According to an affidavit filed by a guardian ad <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">litem</span> assigned to the case, the mother of the child <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">didn</span>’t realize she was pregnant and gave birth to the infant in a bathtub of water. She sterilized a pair of scissors, cut the umbilical cord and used bobby pins to seal the ends. The mother reported that she was scared and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">didn</span>’t know what to do next. She heard about the Safe Haven law and requested that her sister deliver the baby to the hospital.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Two days later, the biological mother and relatives contacted a Box Butte General Hospital official and said that the biological parents wanted the baby. The baby had been ready for release and HHS officials were in the process of placing the baby with a foster-adoption family.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUoOoDQh-iCSfXAY-ak1zE1r60uw7tC9aYFkN4MopxX-J39c0LTSAZf1leygOMjlVNtuLEjhmD6fQ8p-hvJRX82JoFt2HKnDcWDol8uznFn1Lk1mWoSnxO1vXjxT0mg-3N5HUEiz8orE/s1600-h/plantz.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 164px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUoOoDQh-iCSfXAY-ak1zE1r60uw7tC9aYFkN4MopxX-J39c0LTSAZf1leygOMjlVNtuLEjhmD6fQ8p-hvJRX82JoFt2HKnDcWDol8uznFn1Lk1mWoSnxO1vXjxT0mg-3N5HUEiz8orE/s200/plantz.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365525341726546514" border="0" /></a>On July 23, under a plan arranged by HHS, Box Butte County Judge Charles <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Plantz</span> (<span style="font-style: italic;">left</span>) granted legal custody to the agency while the parents undergo genetic testing and psychological assessment. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Plantz</span> made it clear in his order that HHS should proceed with its plan to place the baby with his biological mother while its investigation continues. The maternal grandmother is taking a leave of absence from her job to help care for the infant and his mother. The <span style="font-style: italic;">Star-Herald </span>says the grandmother will move into the mother's home, but the <span style="font-style: italic;">Herald-World</span> says the mother will move into the grandmother's home. The father will be allowed easy access to the infant.<br /><br />According to court documents, Larry Miller, the baby's court appointed guardian <span style="font-style: italic;">ad <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">litem</span></span> said, "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">NDHS</span> believes this arrangement will provide safety for the baby." Hospital officials filed an affidavit in which they said they believe it would be best for the mother and baby to be together so the mom could nurse and bond with him. (Note: court documents are not available to the public; information on them comes from news reports.)<br /><br />The next hearing on the case is scheduled for August 18. The HHS name assigned to the baby, the names of the parents, and the initials used in the court proceedings have not been released. The current location of the baby is unclear, but it sounds like he is with his mother.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">*****<br /></div><br />Baby dump promoters and the press went into a dither when the baby, as per <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Unicam</span> specification, was delivered in tact to Box Butte General Hospital on July 20 by someone identified and now verified as the baby's aunt (mother's sister).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnK608JkDRlXNv7Fo0A5NRgH5KJfeaz36rT4FwmSt1ebEqA2S2htz8OQuuWqxfUy5dMSsWelN5nHqkiJnhAgPlTHRnj_cwzis74M1gBTOpcQ6MtQ6I7Mww6cEgqMhQafHFBPzIgpLgjRM/s1600-h/Arnie+Struthman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnK608JkDRlXNv7Fo0A5NRgH5KJfeaz36rT4FwmSt1ebEqA2S2htz8OQuuWqxfUy5dMSsWelN5nHqkiJnhAgPlTHRnj_cwzis74M1gBTOpcQ6MtQ6I7Mww6cEgqMhQafHFBPzIgpLgjRM/s200/Arnie+Struthman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365527431933889170" border="0" /></a>Nebraska politicians such as Arnie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Struthman</span> (<span style="font-style: italic;">right</span>) and associated <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">baybee</span> pimps like to brag to scared and uninformed suckers that legalized anonymous baby dumping is a no-muss-no-fuss-no-questions-asked-walk away-from-the-problem child surrender with no legal or social consequences. Apparently, these propagandists forgot to tell this to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. HHS threw out a dragnet for the parents as soon as the baby was dropped of.<br /><br />As I posted last week, HHS publicized far and wide:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It’s important to gather information like family medical history to meet this child’s current and future needs</span>.<br /><br />HHS spokesperson, Jeanne Atkinson went even farther. According to in the July 23 <span style="font-style: italic;">Omaha </span><span style="font-style: italic;">World-Herald</span>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A newborn dropped off this week under Nebraska's revised safe haven law might have to spend six months or more in foster care unless his parents can be found.State law allows courts to terminate parental rights after children have been abandoned for six months or more.That would free the infant boy, who was left at a western Nebraska hospital Monday evening, for adoption.Getting an adoption finalized could take additional time, said Jeanne Atkinson, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIcAVWp717NJN_K4jrZY5f8vjiaYAjvy-UvjZ59XbCaHsKa0J1f1eArLePJmyRca8AelG9lc5iKaez-9_JzuSQW8HwJKyBysMeYl2vM7nYZ_VwkCrXh-sNl3Vc8GLGCEJJ06zd4jphfZk/s1600-h/hospital.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIcAVWp717NJN_K4jrZY5f8vjiaYAjvy-UvjZ59XbCaHsKa0J1f1eArLePJmyRca8AelG9lc5iKaez-9_JzuSQW8HwJKyBysMeYl2vM7nYZ_VwkCrXh-sNl3Vc8GLGCEJJ06zd4jphfZk/s200/hospital.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365541274587107458" border="0" /></a>See, the folks at HHS (for all their missteps during the late Nebraska Fiasco), know that "safe haven" is a spurious law that conflicts with all sorts of state and national child welfare laws and policies, not to mention professional child welfare standards and ethics, not to mention it's bad for the kid and its permanent legal disposition, not to mention it makes the state look like its turning its children into <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">figili</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">della</span> Madonna.</span> After the Nebraska Fiasco, any attempt at legal anonymous newborn dump and grab will raise questions and hackles.<br /><br />When I first heard that the parents of Baby Box Butte had come forward (with no details) I thought either they (1) wanted to reclaim him or (2) wanted to make legal surrender and adoption proceedings easier. Scenario 1 is usually the case when parents come forward. They realize they panicked or were misinformed and want their baby back. In Scenario 2, parents realize they panicked or were misinformed and want to make a genuine adoption plan for the good of their child and themselves. In the nearly 10 years I've researched legalized dumping I have not found one single case where a parent or a family member who petitioned for return was denied.<br /><br />I believe there are two reasons for this:<br /><br /><ul><li>Child welfare workers by in large do not like "safe haven" laws and except when thwarted by legal anonymity laws that binds their hands, hold a higher child welfare standard than do politicians and amateur do-gooders via counseling, education, and informed consent whether the final decision of the parent(s) be reunification, kinship care, temporary foster care, or adoption.</li></ul><ul><li>The state fears if victims of "safe <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">havening</span>" are not returned, except for good cause, a parent or relative will seek legal redress. Since "safe haven" laws are already dancing on thin ice, the chance of overturning a law on constitutional grounds given the right circumstances in any state, is good. Not only would costly time-consuming litigation be necessary, but if the plaintiff were successful the entire law could be overturned, and adoption placements of safe <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">havened</span> children be vacated. If the case goes up the law ladder far enough, the entire <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Ponzi</span> scheme could collapse throughout the country. Keeping families in tact post-dump, then, is simply utilitarian even if it is the right thing to do.<br /></li></ul>For more on the constitutional problems with "safe haven" read Erik L. Smith <a href="http://www.eriksmith.org/content/Article/default.asp?id=4&title=The_Myth_of_the_Right_to_Privacy_as_Justifying_Anonymity_in_Safe_Haven_Laws">here</a> and <a href="http://www.eriksmith.org/content/Article/default.asp?id=63&title=Opposition_to_Ohio_Safe_Haven_Law_Amendment_SB_304">here</a>.<br /><br />Congratulations to Judge <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Plantz</span> for the quick turnaround on this case and putting the skids on further harm to this family. I hope the soon-to-be permanently reunited family gets the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">support</span> and assistance it needs, and that others who may be in similar circumstances study this cautionary tale and seek real help and support, not the state-<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">facilitated</span> political feel-good baby abandonment solution they will regret.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">******<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9BgAm83cEVw9XB6dOP90YGe9MDOXHXS3sL-LCyyxV5G1Ev5tXKWLi9D71n_OOPYPOSGWqzwGSuQ5JEbWTU-WgQoOVgyZEu5_ShwkGo6U3fQrx-wu9ap9bRUz7ZfFFg8jx-AVu9Mn79o/s1600-h/stork2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9BgAm83cEVw9XB6dOP90YGe9MDOXHXS3sL-LCyyxV5G1Ev5tXKWLi9D71n_OOPYPOSGWqzwGSuQ5JEbWTU-WgQoOVgyZEu5_ShwkGo6U3fQrx-wu9ap9bRUz7ZfFFg8jx-AVu9Mn79o/s200/stork2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365549536544322098" border="0" /></a><br />This seems as good a place as any to add this note.<br /><br />I know that many find it difficult to believe that some pregnant women are unaware of their pregnancies. I've been less skeptical. I believe that sometimes women are in deep deep denial but in other cases they simply don't have regular pregnancy symptoms or are misdiagnosed.<br /><br />A good friend of mine was 6 1/2 months pregnant before she was finally diagnosed. She had always been told she could not have children. When she exhibited pregnancy symptoms at least two OB-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">GYNs</span> guaranteed her she was not pregnant. When she was referred to a specialist in a near-by town, guess what! Since then, I've been rather interested in this phenomena and always read articles on the subject when they pop up in the popular press. There is also quite a bit of academic literature on the subject. The truth is, undiagnosed and unknown pregnancy is not as rare as you'd think. <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />The Learning Channel</span> is currently running a show, <a href="http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/i-didnt-know-i-was-pregnant/about-the-show.html">I Didn't Know I was Pregnant</a>. I watched several episodes last week. The women featured don't appear to be mentally disturbed or in deep denial. They are not baby dumpers or potential dumpers. The simply had little or no reason to suspect they were pregnant. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">show's</span> website features <a href="http://health.discovery.com/fansites/i-didnt-know-i-was-pregnant/pregnancy-surprises.html"> Top 10 Reasons Why Women Don't Know They are Pregnant</a>, a succinct lay guide to undetected pregnancy.Marley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-82992436762488170972009-07-22T13:58:00.008-04:002009-07-22T14:10:53.292-04:00Nebraska- first baby dump after the fiasco and age down<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3OpdBZqB9IaUqxvvG0aZg70B-eupeBHZHk-pKIQaJep06brCVZaVedazDrO8UqAzUXNtVDOyrMCw6JIhuVRQ1hRkj_LL6uwWiMEKpponCw2DW8ua_ajrE3BzU4zZ-JSJrk-EFPF-z1Po/s1600-h/Box+Butte+Gen+Hosp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3OpdBZqB9IaUqxvvG0aZg70B-eupeBHZHk-pKIQaJep06brCVZaVedazDrO8UqAzUXNtVDOyrMCw6JIhuVRQ1hRkj_LL6uwWiMEKpponCw2DW8ua_ajrE3BzU4zZ-JSJrk-EFPF-z1Po/s320/Box+Butte+Gen+Hosp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361346544020802466" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.bastardette.blogspot.com/">(Marley's</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> piece directly beneath this post has initial details and important weblinks pertaining to this incident.)</span><br /><p>Monday evening a baby boy was left at <a href="http://www.bbgh.org/getpage.php?name=index" mce_href="http://www.bbgh.org/getpage.php?name=index" target="_blank">Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance </a>under Nebraska's aged down new dump law created over the legislative special session. Nebraska law, originally accepted older kids, but was "aged down" in the wake of their "big kid" dump fiasco that made international headlines.</p> <p>This marks the first legalized infant abandonment in Nebraska since the final "big kid" dump in late November '08.</p> <p>Quoting Marley's piece,</p> <blockquote><p>According to Nebraska Health and Human Services Chief Executive Officer Kerry Winterer (RIP Todd Landry), in an HHS press release:</p> <p><span style="font-style: italic;" mce_style="font-style: italic;">“It’s important to gather information like family medical history to meet this child’s current and future needs,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-style: italic;" mce_style="font-style: italic;">Officials asked that anyone with information call the HHS office in Gering at 308-436-6559, the Box Butte County Sheriff’s Office at 308-762-6464, the Alliance Police Department at 308-762-4955 or the Nebraska State Patrol at 308-632-1211.</span></p></blockquote> <p>While it appears the "fiasco" taught Nebraska at least a little about the vital importance of preserving at least a few scraps of information for the kid, clearly Nebraska has yet to learn the broader lesson:</p> <p><b>EVERY SINGLE LEGALIZED CHILD ABANDONMENT MARKS A FAILURE</b>:</p> <ul><li>a fundamental failure of the state to protect the long term interests and human rights of these kids.</li><li>A failure of the state to treat these instances as what they are, marking a crisis for the parent (s), be that psychological, economic, covering over traumatic events such as incest or domestic abuse, etc.</li><li>The state inexcusably providing what amounts to a "make it all just go away" vent, whereby underlying core issues, and genuine needs, are simply ignored. The kids themselves are left to deal with the legacy of such.</li></ul> <p>Monday marks yet another sad day, a day on which the State of Nebraska failed one of its most vulnerable and least able to protect their own interests, and a day when whatever family this child once had is left to disappear into shadows with their own lifetime's worth of a festering secret that can never be rectified.</p> <p>Nebraska had an opportunity after seeing what legalized child dumping or what is oh so politely reframed as "safe haven," meant to those old enough to speak of their own experiences of being "legally abandoned." An opportunity to dismantle its dump system. Instead they chose to preserve it, aging down to those unable to speak about their own experiences. In essence, Nebraska found a way to silence its most directly affected and experienced critics, at least until they grow older, long after this crop of politicians leaves office.</p> <p>No, this is not some "greater good," this is not a "save," nor should this act be celebrated. This is nothing more than rot from within. Shame on Nebraska for maintaining its system of secrets and lies, pushing the lifelong consequences of such down onto a newborn.</p>Lauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-21107754898367337742009-07-22T09:59:00.004-04:002009-08-04T13:30:01.220-04:00NEBRASKA GETS ITS FIRST POST-FIASCO DUMP--"NO QUESTIONS ASKED"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1JZo3_OzCysmkAFrhXESMXgSwPCr0HeGEgB2x5ql3d7NVOYbOZnikLcAXuJlJYGmT-4XU9uJRn3YJj5G4aX8uV7RSsbx-f4q_AdH0otJAr95O71y2re-d08-pue8p4wBshwh6_vbT4_E/s1600-h/Carhenge.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1JZo3_OzCysmkAFrhXESMXgSwPCr0HeGEgB2x5ql3d7NVOYbOZnikLcAXuJlJYGmT-4XU9uJRn3YJj5G4aX8uV7RSsbx-f4q_AdH0otJAr95O71y2re-d08-pue8p4wBshwh6_vbT4_E/s320/Carhenge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361278159804884994" border="0" /></a>This morning The <a href="http://www.omaha.com/article/20090722/NEWS01/707229950">Omaha World-Herald</a> and other Nebraska media (<a href="http://www.kolnkgin.com/home/headlines/51361052.html">here</a> and <a href="http://www.ketv.com/news/20135851/detail.html">here</a>) report that the state got its first "safe haven" catch since its new and improved law went into effect late last year. The baby, described as "a male Caucasian newborn less than 30 days of age" was dropped off by a family member at the Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance Monday night.<br /><br />Nebraska's post-fiasco law permits designated dumpers to drop off babies 30 days and younger no questions asked.<br /><br />Did we say no questions asked?<br /><br />According to Nebraska Health and Human Services Chief Executive Officer Kerry Winterer (RIP Todd Landry), in an HHS press release:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">“It’s important to gather information like family medical history to meet this child’s current and future needs,” he said.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Officials asked that anyone with information call the HHS office in Gering at 308-436-6559, the Box Butte County Sheriff’s Office at 308-762-6464, the Alliance Police Department at 308-762-4955 or the Nebraska State Patrol at 308-632-1211.</span><br /><br />What ever happened to no shame, no blame, no name?<br /><p></p><p>The press release does not appear on the state's "safe haven" page or HHS press release page. If and when it does, I'll link it here. I'll also update when Nebraska's self-servers comment on how they saved just one...<br /></p><p>Alliance, Nebraska, population 8,959 (2000 census) is located in northwest Nebraska. Before it became Nebraska's first post-fiasco dumping ground it was known mainly for its replica of Stonehenge constructed from automobiles.</p><p><br /></p><p>UPDATE: The HHS press release is now up. Click <a href="http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/newsroom/newsreleases/2009/July/safehaven.htm">here</a>.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Marley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-25426214112355339922009-03-27T00:43:00.003-04:002009-03-27T00:50:00.283-04:00STATON CASE CLOSED<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimY9FNcVaLluDoVJl0-_kY_ms9dIcfzl3U4oRnyay202IZMonL75R-H8mm2p1b-9GXcDAA4I4uPqzbu5w8OmVxFTelZ6VrJE8su_en-TmsQ6xqxnkCnOVqGvY67h3k0wDyGEF_DQKTfiU/s1600-h/Gary+Staton+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 146px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimY9FNcVaLluDoVJl0-_kY_ms9dIcfzl3U4oRnyay202IZMonL75R-H8mm2p1b-9GXcDAA4I4uPqzbu5w8OmVxFTelZ6VrJE8su_en-TmsQ6xqxnkCnOVqGvY67h3k0wDyGEF_DQKTfiU/s200/Gary+Staton+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317722376364752338" border="0" /></a>Nebraska's biggest and most famious "safe haven" case is "officially" closed.<br /><br />Yesterday, Gary Staton, 36, <a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10595863">appeared</a> before Douglas County Juvenile Court judge Elizabeth Crnkovich to settle guardianship of his two oldest sons, 16 and 17, "safe havened" last September at Creighton University Hospital during the Nebraska Fiasco. Crnkovich, who has worked with the family for the last six months, did not terminate Staton's parental rights, but appointed unnamed legal guardians for the boys " who are currently in foster care and attending high school together. Calling the Statons a "good family" Crnkovich told Gary Staton, "I've worked with you a long time and through that have known the challenges and have known the circumstances that brought us to this place... What you've done today, oddly enough is very generous."<br /><br />On March 12, Staton voluntarily terminated parental rights to his seven youngest children, "safe havened" at the same time. Those children are currently living with his late wife's aunt in Lincoln. According to <a href="http://www.action3news.com/Global/story.asp?S=10078160&nav=menu550_2">Action 3</a> News Omaha, she plans to adopt them.<br /><br />After the hearing Action 3 decided to stalk Staton, forcing him to sneak out down the backstairs of his new house without comment. A reporter, however, managed to nail Staton's father-in-law, Jack Manzer, who said the kids are in school, making new friends, and doing OK.<br /><br />"Any hard feelings toward Gary? I'd like if things would have come out better, but no he's their father and that's just the way it is."<br /><br />If anything good came out of this case at all, it's that the Statons have been able to stay together, more or less, though I can't even imagine to begin to know how these kids feel.<br /><br />I'll include additional details if they come out tomorrow.<br /><br />In the meantime, still no expected newborns thrown into the maw.Marley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-2414364723269220012009-03-12T16:15:00.002-04:002009-03-12T16:17:31.449-04:00NEBRASKA FIASCO UPDATE: STATON TERMINATES RIGHTS; LANDRY OUT; DUMPEES STILL IN LIMBO<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUdtVd0snlA5xU3dgMHBV2RwVNVyr5dTlQiY0fPkKfb6YmrKwitt8-3E9JwidXEpmdM-g4hRba_TtAUGihXuu2MjBomaIEz9guD2v_K68Q1rYimOBBZn1KJsS93t2KbE-siBEypDR37c/s1600-h/Nebraska.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUdtVd0snlA5xU3dgMHBV2RwVNVyr5dTlQiY0fPkKfb6YmrKwitt8-3E9JwidXEpmdM-g4hRba_TtAUGihXuu2MjBomaIEz9guD2v_K68Q1rYimOBBZn1KJsS93t2KbE-siBEypDR37c/s200/Nebraska.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312394279524786130" border="0" /></a>I've been collecting material to update the Nebraska Fiasco, but haven't had the time to put everything together. Since the big news on the Fiasco scene Monday was the termination of Gary <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Staton's</span> parental rights, I'm catching up a bit here.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiQwd-cmmTDsWSRIzNHCjffD2dxVyA4OxV1kJjZww2dGkzA0Lxi6DOdi_aAlAfmDoriPHNF4AVHmylJrIvGtjTAABZO8weblsPAHb4L2XwS13a6G9GI7RrhagKin1J6Typ9g-_LAqNsM/s1600-h/Gary+Staton.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiQwd-cmmTDsWSRIzNHCjffD2dxVyA4OxV1kJjZww2dGkzA0Lxi6DOdi_aAlAfmDoriPHNF4AVHmylJrIvGtjTAABZO8weblsPAHb4L2XwS13a6G9GI7RrhagKin1J6Typ9g-_LAqNsM/s200/Gary+Staton.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312392412037247682" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />GARY <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">STATON</span> TERMINATES PARENTAL RIGHTS</span><br />According to <a href="http://www.action3news.com/Global/story.asp?S=9990439&nav=menu550_2">Omaha Action 3 News</a>, Gary <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Saton</span>, 36, the widower who "safe <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">havened</span> 9 of his 10 children (the oldest is a legal adult) at Creighton University Medical Center last September, went to court Monday (March 9) to formally terminate his parental rights. Since their abandonment, the seven youngest children, ages 2-15, have been living with an aunt (sometimes described as a great aunt) in Lincoln who will remain their legal guardian until each turns 19. The two oldest boys are, at their own request, living in foster care in Omaha so they can finish high school together. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Staton</span> was granted visitation. He planned to visit his former family in Lincoln Monday evening. No word otherwise, on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Staton's</span> current situation except he has moved from the family's home which has been condemned by the city.<br /><br />Last October, a week after their "legal abandonment" and placement in Lincoln, the seven youngest <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Statons</span> became the subject of a tug-of-war between their aunt/ HHS and their court appointed advocate, Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Incontro</span>. Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Elizabeth <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Crnkovich</span> (otherwise a voice of reason during the Nebraska Fiasco) found the placement inappropriate after <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Incontro</span> complained that some of the kids, living with the aunt only a couple of days, were sleeping on air mattresses or sharing mattress on the floor, none had been enrolled in a new school, and the state wasn't "helping enough."<br /><br />To hear Mr. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Incontro</span> and Judge <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Crnkovich</span> talk (she reportedly said the children were in "unlivable conditions), you'd think we are all be prepared for the sudden arrival of seven abandoned children into our homes, complete with beds, therapists and school supplies. I bet <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Incontro</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Crnkovich</span> are!<br /><br />This <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">nuttery</span> is from an <a href="http://www.ketv.com/news/17601281/detail.html">October 1, 2008</a> broadcast on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">KETV</span>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Lancaster County judge ordered the children removed because their aunt's home didn't have enough room for them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Three of the kids were sleeping on the same mattress and two others shared an air mattress. None of them are in school because they have moved to a different county, said their attorney, Tom <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Incontro</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"They wanted to stay together and they wanted to stay with family," said Todd Landry, the Director of Health and Human Services. "We had a safe family member they could go to on a short term basis."Health and Human Services workers checked out the children's great aunt and found the home was too small to house seven children."We knew they were going to, very temporarily, on a very short term basis, be sharing a bed," Landry said</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Incontro</span> said in court Wednesday that the aunt who stepped forward to help the kids is not prepared to care for them. Judge Elizabeth <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Crnkovich</span> ordered them to be moved by the end of the day.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"I think we might have rushed this a bit," <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Incontro</span> said. "I think in this case we hurried up, got that done and didn't put into place the things the kids need immediately."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">But later Wednesday, the Department of Health and Humans Services appealed the judge's decision, saying it's in the kids' best interest to stay together and live with a relative who cares about them</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"They are happy to be together with family," said Landry.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Staton</span> kids again have been shuffled into foster care, which is where they started after their father, Gary <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Staton</span>, dropped them off at Creighton University Medical Center last week. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Staton</span> avoided charges because his actions were protected under Nebraska's controversial Safe Haven law."It bothers me," <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Incontro</span> said. "The kids went back to family, now may not be with family for a few days, and that concerns me. But if it's not appropriate, it's not appropriate."</span><br /><br />Compare these two:<br /><br />Todd Landry: <span style="font-style: italic;">They wanted to stay together and they wanted to stay with family. We had a safe family member they could go to on a short term basis...</span><span style="font-style: italic;">They are happy to be together with family</span><span style="font-style: italic;">."</span><br /><br />Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Incontro</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"> "I think in this case we hurried up, got that done and didn't put into place the things the kids need immediately."</span><br /><br />Let's get this straight. We are not talking about long-term deprivation, but emergency shelter for a family of seven abandoned children, suddenly separated from their father and 3 older siblings, and whose mother is dead, According to the child advocate and judge, it is more important for children to sleep in their "own" beds in strangers' homes immediately after a family tragedy, than remain together in safe surroundings with a loving family member. Air mattresses! Oh my! Did neither <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Incontro</span> of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Crmkovich</span> go to college?<br /><br />Just before Christmas, Judge <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Crmkovich</span> <a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10522167&u_rss=1&">reversed her order</a> after <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">DHS</span> and the aunt improved the "living" situation and the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Staton</span> kids were given into their aunt's custody. Gary <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Staton</span> never showed an interest in regaining custody, though he has attended hearings, therapy sessions and stayed in contact with the kids.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6Y-BAZ-enICMKUfJUqRaq22DknKVvjYoVmrX2lRLM6X5Bdhq5ZlE_OCfBKjSMoTHHYjNfK_oxNoWSIgKeR-w34YF0u-82bZ5EeT76BS6ne93o_T4tDy5WfRu89Dy9BqjLeI-c_AZfaI/s1600-h/landry.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6Y-BAZ-enICMKUfJUqRaq22DknKVvjYoVmrX2lRLM6X5Bdhq5ZlE_OCfBKjSMoTHHYjNfK_oxNoWSIgKeR-w34YF0u-82bZ5EeT76BS6ne93o_T4tDy5WfRu89Dy9BqjLeI-c_AZfaI/s200/landry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312392675601598642" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">TODD WE HARDLY KNEW YE: TODD LANDRY HEADS TO TEXAS</span><br />To no one's surprise, Todd Landry, director of Nebraska's Children and Family Services, and the official state voice of the Nebraska Fiasco, has announced he will soon <a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10554616">depart</a> for more friendly climes...or as he puts it "I have a great opportunity come my way, and I decided it was the best thing for me and my family." No doubt.<br /><br />On April 1, Landry will become the executive director of the <a href="http://www.lenapopehome.org/">Lena Pope Home</a> a private child and family agency in Fort Worth, Texas. He served well, if not so wisely, in Nebraska for 20 months.<br /><br />Back in September 2008, Landry gained the opprobrium of stressed-out parents, under-staffed professionals, and shocked-I-tell-you-shocked politicians with his "insensitive" statements about the state's big kid dumpers. As soon as Landry released the dubiously titled, <a href="http://www.hhs.state.ne.us/newsroom/newsreleases/2008/Sep/safehaven2.htm">Safe Haven Law Does Not Absolve Parents of Responsibility</a> press release and made subsequent public comments implying that dumpers are lazy, irresponsible, and immature, I figured he was out.<br /><br />Now that Landry is on the last train to Fort Worth, pols who made the mess he was charged with covering up and cleaning up, are weeping copious crocodile tears:<br /><br />Sen. Tim Gray chair of the Health and Human Service Committee called Landry's departure "a loss for Nebraska."<br /><br />"Sen. Amanda Gill, head of the task force looking into issues related to "safe haven" law, although critical of Landry during the Fiasco, praised him for his current cooperation in finding ways to help troubled children.<br /><br />Sen. Gwen Howard, who could hardly keep her socks on during the Fiasco, told the press, "The safe-haven issue was certainly difficult for everyone. I do believe that Todd Landry wanted to do a good job."<br /><br />Nobody, of course, has complained that on Landry's watch the state collected $273 million in child support payments, an all-time high. But, then, enforcing child support doesn't make the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Unicam</span> look stupid.<br /><br />Landry should write a book: <span style="font-style: italic;">20 Months of Nebraska Hell: My Life as <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Collateral</span> Damage</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ixbEef-drfR2MoR4H1jMQ_qHRkbMzs0IHLtKnlpe9zKKOuJEtDtV7eO7oXY1d-maC-Zz_lr7Porn-v05j1Nfz64GYayeFE0oSVnANHAd8a7dWUVCYMva8JTk5vBudElol1Szp5qn-bI/s1600-h/Sher+lock+Holmes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ixbEef-drfR2MoR4H1jMQ_qHRkbMzs0IHLtKnlpe9zKKOuJEtDtV7eO7oXY1d-maC-Zz_lr7Porn-v05j1Nfz64GYayeFE0oSVnANHAd8a7dWUVCYMva8JTk5vBudElol1Szp5qn-bI/s200/Sher+lock+Holmes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312393057295374178" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHERE ARE THEY NOW?</span><br />Despite their protests that Nebraska's "safe haven" was their last resort and they wanted their kids <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">bac</span>k...., here's a rundown from yesterday' <a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10583345"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Omaha</span> World-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Hearld</span></a> on other cases. No names published:<br /><br /><ul><li>Ten parents are participating in Juvenile Court proceedings and services in the hope of getting their children returned.</li></ul> <ul><li> Seven other parents or guardians have not attended court hearings to pursue being reunited with the children. Prosecutors probably will try to terminate their parental rights.</li></ul> <ul><li>Two people rescinded legal <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">guardianships</span>, but in both cases, the biological parents had not had their rights terminated. At least one parent in each case has been involved in court.</li></ul>The paper reported on <a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10552905">February 1</a> that 29 big kid <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">dumpees</span> remained in foster care, 6 were returned to their home states, and 1 had returned home.<br /><br />Oh, and in case anybody is wondering, not one glassy-eyed, desperate mother has wandered into any Nebraska hospital since its new and improved law went into effect to save her "unwanted newborn" from the trash.. Nor has any newborn been dumpsterized. Obviously, somebody's not doing their job!Marley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-47143452032707226492009-01-03T00:35:00.003-05:002009-01-03T01:29:30.942-05:00FAMILY UNFRIENDLY NEBRASKA: NO SHAME, BUT PLENTY OF BLAME AND NAMES<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAFNySzVrfsbBGXOi2PQmeFvjHgaBWXGEmKi98GwYIkayCuJYBWm7LO0hv2GuEWwcjD4wcTetiZS-GGdnOSsaJ6jQIsjvTcwcRu-VsczN-Lu0a1bhVxFhJ81bEemkSRFx_bdw6-N1rxM/s1600-h/bueraucrats.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAFNySzVrfsbBGXOi2PQmeFvjHgaBWXGEmKi98GwYIkayCuJYBWm7LO0hv2GuEWwcjD4wcTetiZS-GGdnOSsaJ6jQIsjvTcwcRu-VsczN-Lu0a1bhVxFhJ81bEemkSRFx_bdw6-N1rxM/s200/bueraucrats.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286532923408974978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">NO! CHILDREN OF THE CORN ISN'T GOING AWAY!</span><br /><br />From the same folks who last fall brought us at least 50 abandoned and traumatized teens and pre-teens via their "unique safe haven law" comes the news that the majority of Nebraska senators responding to a pre-session poll by the Associated Press, would support a measure to ban abortion in the state. Most support an exception for rape, incest, or the health of the woman, but four reject all exceptions.<br /><br />According to an article in the December 31 <a href="http://www.beatricedailysun.com/articles/2008/12/31/news/local/doc495b91c85bf4d180131816.txt%22">Beatrice Daily Sun</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">23 Nebraska state senators [out of the 40 who responded] said they would back such a ban. That's despite the precedence of </span><span>Roe vs. Wade</span><span style="font-style: italic;">, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that established a woman's right to have an abortion.</span><br /><br />The full AP survey has not been released. According to a commenter named "Eric" on Kyle Michaelis' New Nebraska Network blog <a href="http://newnebraska.net/showDiary.do?diaryId=1599">The Coat Hanger Caucus: Almost 1/2 of senators support abortion ban</a> (December 30) Senators <span style="font-style: italic;"> </span> Adams, Carlson, Coash, Cornett, Flood, Fulton, Gay, Gloor, Hadley, Hansen, Harms, Heidemann, Janssen, Karpisek, Langemeier, McCoy, Nelson, Pankonin, Pirsch, Schilz, Stuthman, Utter, and Wightman indicated they would support a ban on abortion. "Eric" speculates from past record that Senators Ashford, Christensen, Dierks, Dubas, Fischer, Friend, Giese, Lathrop, Lautenbaugh, Louden, Mello, Nordquist, Pahls, Price, Sullivan, and Wallman would also most likely support some type of ban.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheT_qKjeeTpBfOLh-GZwix_dEo1dgVXoMGziQ9_2wE1jDfJwS_iYYR4225vAyi9yQJWwFgFFEvZycY_35RwZIjRm_vKnRWDuZLq_6e3r-ZqQaIrguQ9DgvRtv9CeBB8GA7kbSuMaMQco8/s1600-h/dog+eat+dog.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 164px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheT_qKjeeTpBfOLh-GZwix_dEo1dgVXoMGziQ9_2wE1jDfJwS_iYYR4225vAyi9yQJWwFgFFEvZycY_35RwZIjRm_vKnRWDuZLq_6e3r-ZqQaIrguQ9DgvRtv9CeBB8GA7kbSuMaMQco8/s200/dog+eat+dog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286517007733300450" border="0" /></a>Here's where it gets interesting. In another AP poll of senators published in the December 24, 2008 <span style="font-style: italic;">Lincoln Journal Star</span>, <a href="http://journalstar.com/articles/2008/12/24/news/local/doc49528b18e741f151142841.txt">In the wake of the recent changes to Nebraska’s safe-haven law, do you feel the state needs to increase services for older children with behavioral problems?</a>, anti-abortion Senators Janssen and McCoy said "No" and anti-abortion Senators Flood, Gloor, Langemeier, Pankonin, Pirsch, Schilz, Stuthman, and Utter declared themselves "Unsure." Speculative abortion-ban Senators Ashford, Friend, Louden, and Schilz also declared themselves "Unsure." Stuthman, who fought to the bitter end the November Special Session of the Unicam to revisit the "unique"kid dump law he sponsored that made Nebraska the laughing stock of the country, said he was unsure if additional services were needed because, "We need to make sure that the services that we have are being utilized."<br /><br />And for sheer audacity: Stuthman and "Unsure" Senator Pankonin at the time the "safe haven" poll was published, were members of the Children in Crisis Task Force. The task force formed by Governor Dave Heineman, after Stuthman's "unique" law was replaced with one that limited dumpees to the age of 30 days, was charged with finding a solution--<span style="font-weight: bold;">in three meetings</span>--to problems exposed by the old "safe haven" law which Stuthman held so dear to his heart. Senator McGill, who chaired the task force skipped the question.<br /><br />Apparently these senators dozed through the Nebraska Fiasco and the testimonies of dozens of Nebraskans who made their lock-out of putative in-place state and private social services up close and personal during the Unicam Special Session. I hope those parents and guardians who bussed in and knocked on the statehouse door didn't expect the task force to actually do something other than bloviate out their nose. A task force, after all, is where politicians safe haven their political asses. If it saves just one.<br /><br /><span>I</span><span><span> wrote the following about"unsure" and family unfriendly Senator Pete Pirsch <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/09/build-it-and-they-will-come-nebraska.html">back in September</a> when </span></span><span><span> Big Kids began to clog up</span> ERs. Pete proudly opposes abortion, thinks teen dumps are inconvenient but OK if they save a baby someplace else, and can't figure out if Nebraska's child welfare system is broken enough yet </span><span>to</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span>warrant a second look<span style="font-style: italic;">--</span></span><span>at least</span><span> from him<span style="font-style: italic;">:</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">According to Sen. Pete Persch in an August 15, 2008 article in <a href="http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=333827">stateline.org</a>, the only way Nebraska "safe haven" pimps could get their bill passed was to expand the already crazy template of newborn abandonment to an even crazier law to legalize all child abandonment:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;" class="bodytxt-serif"><span>State Sen. Pete Pirsch, whose compromise amendment eventually became the law, said using the broad language was intentional, because several senators felt strongly that the safe haven protection needed to be extended to all children.</span></span> <span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Unaware that language has consequences.<br /><br />Pirsch continued to bray on:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><blockquote><span><span style="font-style: italic;">In my opinion, the need to pass a safe haven bill outweighed the need for perfect language,” “The risk to babies’ lives far outweighed the possibility of a few inconvenient circumstances with older children.</span>”</span></blockquote>No AP abortion questionnaire comment by Pirsch was published , but dump pusher Tony Fulton's response is quoted in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Beatrice Sun</span> :<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Direct abortion is the purposeful taking of innocent human life, and unintended consequences are psychological, emotional and spiritual harm to the mother.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">There are also far-reaching physical consequences suffered by the unsuspecting mother. If the courts overturn </span><span>Roe</span><span style="font-style: italic;">, Nebraska should follow suit and redouble our efforts to help desperate mothers who may be in situations contemplating abortion.</span><br /><br />No help for "desperate mothers who may be contemplating "safe havening" their babies, though. (What is an "unsuspecting mother," anyway?) I guess to these jokers dumping off Big Kids or even small ones you're not quite attached to yet, does no "psychological, emotional" and spiritual harm" to mother or child as long as it's done with the legislature's friendly facilitation as we had this last fall.<br /><br />Here's what Lavennia Coover (below) wrote in the October 4, 2008 <a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10450075">Omaha World-Hearld</a> after she was virtually thrown out of Immanuel Hospital when she "safe havened" her mentally ill son Skyler in a last ditch attempt to get help for him:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTst2-s6HlIS-JRDOmkWV3VapXVM_uYV4w-zgtFik_2-Z-yzweIU9YJpsFeTsSLoWD4nswe6pDfwKtECigU-R_JVapxH_wrx-M1JWHMg0wLkS-Dnjoac-tsqR9zcVq5lvCaqOA1C9frqM/s1600-h/Coover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 104px; height: 125px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTst2-s6HlIS-JRDOmkWV3VapXVM_uYV4w-zgtFik_2-Z-yzweIU9YJpsFeTsSLoWD4nswe6pDfwKtECigU-R_JVapxH_wrx-M1JWHMg0wLkS-Dnjoac-tsqR9zcVq5lvCaqOA1C9frqM/s320/Coover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286849196827160466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">While I was at the hospital I had to request to speak with the social worker on duty at the hospital . I also spoke to the police and the intake nurse for child and adolescents. During the time I was at the hospital trying to give all the information that I felt was needed to ensure my child got the help he desperately needed, and told the staff that if they needed anything else to please call me, because I was trying to do was get the help my child needed,and and staff continually telling me I could leave now! I gave my name and phone numbers and told the staff that if they needed anything else to please call me, because all I was trying to do was get the help my child needed and was unavailable to us in the area of Nebraska where we lived. Todd Reckling (administrator of Nebraska's Office of Protection and Safety) also stated to me that I would be contacted within 48 hours of the whereabouts of my child and the next steps. It has been four days and I have not heard anything and when I try to find out I am not able to get any information. ...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">...the help my family received from the state was as follows: the state took custody of my child. I was told I was a worthless parent and the judge didn't know if I deserved my other two children...</span><br /><br /><strong></strong>Coover, a law abiding school teacher who thought the "safe haven law" actually meant what it said, was later <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/173344">charged</a> with neglect. Her case is pending.<br /><br />There is no talk of an abortion ban being introduced in the Unicam this coming session, but it doesn't take a Cornhusker English Department POMO to deconstruct that baby dump 2.0 could be one of those "efforts" to help desperate mothers" contemplating abortion, even though abortion is perfectly legal and is not an issue for women who dump who often don't even acknowledge they're pregnant.<br /><br />As for the task force, not much has been written. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Kearney Hub</span> <a href="http://www.kearneyhub.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=20212186&BRD=268&PAG=461&dept_id=577576&rfi=8">reported</a> that a December 1 meeting was "productive" according to people who attended. Task Force chair Senator Amanda McGill said, "the group spent the day talking about and suggesting possible solutions to the problems facing children with behavioral, mental and emotional problems." Most ideas, she said centered around four themes: access to services, resources, early intervention, and crisis management. No word on the second meeting, but the third was canceled due to "bad weather."A "legislative proposal" is pending.<br /><br />The December 28, 2008, <span style="font-style: italic;">Omaha World Hearld</span> published an extremely long and enlightening article, <a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10524566">Nebraska system leaves many frustrated in search for mental health treatment</a> which lays much of the blame for the run-up (and presumed continuation) to the Nebraska Fiasco on the lack of intensive mental health services for Nebraska's wards at the door of Magellan Behavioral Health, the state's private HMO that determines who gets what treatment in the state's foster care system. As the gatekeeper, it pinches the state's pennies and remains a mystery, even to juvenile court judges. Undoubtedly your own state has similar blockages to quality intensive care for the mentally ill caught in the child welfare system.<br /><br />The January 2 <a href="http://www.gothenburgtimes.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2009/01/02/495d616322e19">Gothenburg Times</a> reports that any attempt to fund much of anything new will get the cold shoulder when the Unicam meets next week. The problem: The state's projected $377 million gap between anticipated tax revenue and spending.<br /><br />Now that the Nebraska Fiasco is but a sordid memory it's business as usual.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">******<br /></div><br />There is no good way to work the into the above blog, but I wanted to include it here as a extended addenda that brings some of the Nebraska Fiasco into context.<br /><a href="http://www.gothenburgtimes.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2009/01/02/495d616322e19%3EGothenburg%20Times%3C/a%3E,%20suggested%20that%20any%20new%20programs%20for%20anything,%20will%20get%20the%20cold%20shoulder%20next%20week%20when%20the%20Unicam%20returns.%20%20The%20problem?%20%20The%20state%27s%20projected%20$378%20million%20gap%20between%20anticipated%20tax%20revenue%20and%20spending.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3ENow%20that%20the%20Nebraska%20Fiasco%20is%20a%20sordid%20memory,%20it%27s%20business%20as%20usual%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cdiv%20style="><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yiPwTTXMF1bJEXQl9jfnsk0BCxsnGpWg-3khn7mGbFvBCSOmljuwjzDfJ7xVCroJRX3BOvW5ddpkA6MbVeR2s1q2PD7YLkpj-fc9F5bFfpQq-0UeCNVbo8b7S-YjnyFrLTRjL9DOUNE/s1600-h/Heineman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yiPwTTXMF1bJEXQl9jfnsk0BCxsnGpWg-3khn7mGbFvBCSOmljuwjzDfJ7xVCroJRX3BOvW5ddpkA6MbVeR2s1q2PD7YLkpj-fc9F5bFfpQq-0UeCNVbo8b7S-YjnyFrLTRjL9DOUNE/s200/Heineman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286526346819710738" border="0" /></a> Kyle Michaelis also wrote a blog highly critical of Governor Dave Heineman, which I didn't see until today, holding the governor personally responsible for the Nebraska Fiasco: <a href="http://newnebraska.net/showDiary.do?diaryId=1561">Does Dave Heineman Deserve Blame for the Safe Haven Debacle?</a> Here is a portion:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />The dilemmas raised by this whole situation have been numerous and ugly. The one thing they all have in common is that they've made Nebraska look very bad. Unfortunately, most of the mockery and scorn has been directed at our state legislature. That's extremely unfair, especially since </span><b style="font-style: italic;">it was Heineman who signed the bill into law and who later delayed in calling a special session while the situation grew into a genuine crisis.</b><p style="font-style: italic;"> </p><p><span style="font-style: italic;">Of course, it's unfair to point a finger at any one person for a bill that passed the legislature with only one dissenting vote. But, Heineman gave the final go-ahead and hasn't been held to account in the sligthest - even though he </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://journalstar.com/articles/2008/02/13/news/politics/doc47b32d0248e13387556051.txt">admitted to its flaws</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> upon the bill's signing on February 13th, 2008.</span><br /></p><blockquote><i>Gov. Dave Heineman signed the state's safe haven bill late Wednesday morning, though he said he has some misgivings about the broad nature of the Nebraska measure.... </i><p><i>"Yes, I am going to sign it. Yes, I have some concern," Heineman said during a Wednesday morning news conference. "We have decided to expand beyond infants." </i></p><p><i>But senators can make adjustments to the law in future years if problems develop, he said.</i></p></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">This wasn't some unforeseen consequence. Heineman recognized the possibility that we'd see precisely what came to pass, and he signed the legislation anyways. </span><b style="font-style: italic;">Every time one of those children has been dropped off, it's been <u>Heineman's safe haven</u> in action.</b><span style="font-style: italic;">..<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-style: italic;">...Recognizing that so many parents and guardians could be brought to such a desperate act as abandoning their children, Heineman might have embraced this incredible responsibility he'd helped thrust upon the state. Instead, his only focus has been personally avoiding the political consequences without any apparent compassion for the suffering and frustration that have become increasingly evident in so many Nebraska families.</span><br /><br />Michaelis closes with these observations which are relevant to the Nebraska Fiasco<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9XSMoqWHqTyvhVdzkmGbMNVZWIGYuy98IxKyyFUr35PSa9RV8jT58k3QDAzc0Y9Run8HCD4vy-qSBD6oLJxacNnF1Y7td5YrCP5epSOutgHpOEmHd7xKmc7PX2CT8SFYCtLQ8-LslXU/s1600-h/scold+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 129px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9XSMoqWHqTyvhVdzkmGbMNVZWIGYuy98IxKyyFUr35PSa9RV8jT58k3QDAzc0Y9Run8HCD4vy-qSBD6oLJxacNnF1Y7td5YrCP5epSOutgHpOEmHd7xKmc7PX2CT8SFYCtLQ8-LslXU/s200/scold+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286527073540271234" border="0" /></a>.<span style="font-style: italic;">..Anyone that has been working directly with this issue could have told Landry and Heineman, but they didn't want to listen. I remember about 3 years ago, Heineman wanted to reduce the number of children in foster care because Nebraska had the highest per-capita rate. Result? All of his hacks set out to reduce those numbers NOT by finding ways to be proactive. Nope. They actually CUT OUT voluntary cases, and then required us Case Managers to start writing up fewer case plan goals. Say, for example, if a child was removed because a dirty house (we're talking cockroaches everywhere, animal feces on the floor, no food in the house, etc). We find out after the removal the parent is doing drugs, and that's why they can't take care of themselves let alone their home and their kid. Sorry, but we could no longer address drug use. If we could get them to clean up the home to an acceptable level, we'd put the kid back right away, and maybe not even persue a case beyond the initial hearing. Did it correct the real problem? Nope. But it sure got those numbers down for Dave Heineman.<br /><br /></span><span>Who knew Nebraska was so family unfriendly?</span>Marley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-69057994465566454542008-12-27T12:50:00.001-05:002008-12-27T12:52:17.955-05:00FATHER FLANIGAN DROPS OFF ORPHANS: ABSOLUTELY GIDDDY"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnvJMlGhzEwb6xY_CGmcoHfGKX3cZgIO-DATLyhNx4CgLd15g20YvKnbHrXnd5dvUtqeHkuoXU6qwXbcFXNTsHJA1MaNzqFSTNHhqdMwvEsoxLnfcRjH_OIrvts2fc7X09W6bKvU1gUw/s1600-h/Fr.+Flanigan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnvJMlGhzEwb6xY_CGmcoHfGKX3cZgIO-DATLyhNx4CgLd15g20YvKnbHrXnd5dvUtqeHkuoXU6qwXbcFXNTsHJA1MaNzqFSTNHhqdMwvEsoxLnfcRjH_OIrvts2fc7X09W6bKvU1gUw/s320/Fr.+Flanigan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284166797312292690" border="0" /></a>Catching up on today's abandoned babies stories, I found <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1349693,CST-NWS-baby26.article">Police search for abandoned infant's mom</a> in today's <span style="font-style: italic;">Chicago Sun-Times</span>, a follow-up on a newborn recently discovered in the unheated vestibule of an Uptown apartment building. Thankfully, the baby is doing fine.<br /><br />But at the very bottom of the article under "Related Blogs"this gem, dated November 17, 2008 is linked to the story courtesy of Carbolic Smoke Blog: <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/blogentries/index.html?bbPostId=Cz1RBdxHp3n30BCDXWBJMuFvkB9pNWWnDI00CB2eRZ17WDlJW&bbParentWidgetId=B8k88rWwXopuz5STgLeVwBLu">Number of children abandoned under Nebraska's safe haven law jumps from 34 to 852 when Father Flanagan drops off orphans from Boys Town at local hospital</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Witnesses say Flanagan was “downright giddy,” rubbing his hands together and laughing. He told befuddled hospital workers that “the kids are your responsibility now. It was either this or bankruptcy, so they boys had to go. This will give me a chance to reorganize and turn Boys Town into something profitable, like a Walgreens. </span><br /><br />I'll have some genuine good news from the Nebraska Fiasco up this weekend.Marley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-47640432941205015692008-12-10T00:16:00.008-05:002008-12-10T00:42:45.116-05:00Announcing SECA- Stop Encouraging Child Abandonment, working to repeal the legalized child abandonment laws<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.stopdumpingkids.com/sites/default/files/seca_logo.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 80px; height: 80px;" src="http://www.stopdumpingkids.com/sites/default/files/seca_logo.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>(Please distribute freely, keeping links intact.) <p>Last Friday, December 5th, 2008, the <a href="http://www.stopdumpingkids.com/" target="_blank">SECA web-page</a> finally went live. (http://www.stopdumpingkids.com/)</p> <p>SECA, short for “<span style="font-weight: bold;">Stop Encouraging Child Abandonment</span>,” is a concept that has been a long time coming.</p> <p>From the first of the legalized child abandonment laws passed in 1999 until now, efforts to repeal and stop the dump laws have suffered from a lack of an alliance dedicated to focusing primarily on the issue.</p> <p>Before SECA, responses to dump laws had been piecemeal, portions of existing organizations’ broader missions. Over the years numerous organizations have opposed and testified against the legalization of child abandonment, and individuals have contacted legislators and worked against legalized child dumping. But, there had been no one place dedicated to dismantling the evolving child abandonment infrastructure.</p> <p>Thus, SECA has finally been created.</p> <p>Stop Encouraging Child Abandonment works toward nothing less than the full and permanent repeal of laws that legalize child abandonment.</p> <p>We feel it is not the proper role of any government to encourage child abandonment as policy.</p> <p>We approach this work firmly grounded in a human/civil/identity rights perspective. We support kids, women, and reproductive autonomy.</p> <p>The need for SECA had become apparent over the past nine years, but the child welfare crisis in Nebraska with its law legalizing the abandonment of older children finally made it clear to the broader public, a formalized response to legalized child dumping is necessary.</p> <p>Since the beginning, the consequences of such laws have been clear to those of us “in the field.” With bills rushed through state legislatures and policy and legal criticisms by and large dismissed, the general public simply never had reason to even think about the consequences of “safe haven” laws. Most people had never heard the voice of a kid who had been legally dumped. They had never seen the desperation of mothers and families utilizing the legalized abandonment laws.</p> <p>Nebraska changed everything.</p> <p>Nebraska’s older kid dumps, and the state’s eventual age down of eligible dumpees from 18-year olds to those 30 days and younger has solved nothing. It has merely attempted to put off dealing with the inevitable consequences “safe haven” laws create until the infants abandoned under the new law grow old enough to speak for themselves.</p><p>The child welfare abandonment disaster across the United States, legalized everywhere except Washington DC., is far from over. It is just beginning.</p> <p>Out of that context, SECA was born, not so much a formal organization, for now more of a collective voice of allies, organizations, bloggers, and individuals among others working together towards the repeal of the dump laws.</p> <p>If you are interested in working against the legalized child abandonment laws, or already are, SECA can serve as a resource in that work.<br /></p><p>We can be contacted through <a href="http://www.stopdumpingkids.com/node/8" target="_blank">the SECA contact page</a>.</p>Lauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-57362014423249867232008-11-26T22:15:00.001-05:002008-12-12T23:15:49.451-05:00SCAVENGERS LAND IN LINCOLN, OMAHA!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFh60a1NZufQ3oi7ff6XsRIpIvUuCSDMBntvoNhKx8JdCgRdwaJFZr3tBfFoA94-tnli3agFaFpSlL4GHR8NoyE_HhxQFedlpvDsvHw1bVPcM6NJx1qx9my05OqEP4JXkLsvNrEaZE5fo/s1600-h/vultures.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFh60a1NZufQ3oi7ff6XsRIpIvUuCSDMBntvoNhKx8JdCgRdwaJFZr3tBfFoA94-tnli3agFaFpSlL4GHR8NoyE_HhxQFedlpvDsvHw1bVPcM6NJx1qx9my05OqEP4JXkLsvNrEaZE5fo/s320/vultures.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273165483363777538" border="0" /></a>The scavengers landed in Lincoln last Friday.<br /><br />Baby Safe Haven New England's Jean and Mike Morrisey, and their teen baby dump diva <a href="http://www.reneemarcou.com/">Renee Marcou</a> pecked their way into the zippity-do-dah session of the Unicam, where leggies couldn't wait to pass <a href="http://www.unicam.state.ne.us/FloorDocs/Current/PDF/Final/LB1.pdf">LB 1</a>, normalize child abandonment, and be out the door. <a href="http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=397241371&albumID=1202981&imageID=13998153">Here's</a> a picture of Mrs. Morrisey in her notorious white suit, "safe haven" spokesinger Ms. Marcou, and Sen. Arnie Struthman, who started the whole Nebraska Fiasco with LB 157. From the look on Struthman's face, he can die a happy man now. It's not everyday a fella can wreck his state's child welfare system AND get a thankful hug from an up-and-coming pop star hottie. Maybe they submitted testimony, twisted arms, or wagged appropriate cleavage behind closed doors, but neither the Morriseys nor Marcou testified during the Special Session, That would hardly keep them from the photo op, though. with the hint that they were important players in baby dump 2.0<br /><br />According to a thinly veiled press release distributed by Baby Safe Haven Maharishi Mike Morrisey. (compare the November 23 press release on Marcou's <a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=103104320">MySpace blog page</a> to the article in the November 25 edition of Marcou's hometown paper, the <a href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/wilmington/fun/entertainment/arts/x1772960884/Marcou-makes-an-impace-in-Nebraska">Wilmington Advocate</a>-- embedded music video of her new release "Don't Let Go" included), Marcou was "asked" to travel to Lincoln and Omaha to "continue her [Baby Safe Haven] public awareness radio tour." Who invited her isn't revealed. We can guess.<br /><br />This isn't the fist time the Ms have trolled through corn country. You can listen to a radio show with Mike on <a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=18375381">KLIN-AM</a> back in September 2007, where he talks about Nebraska's baby abandonment "epidemic" and gives instructions on how to squeeze city councils to pressure the Unicam to keep up with the Joneses. Marcou has been hip-hopping all over New England at the behest of BSH (doncha just love that acronym?) spreading the joy to teenage girls who Marcou says she can relate to and communicate with. "I have seen the panic and know that things happen."<br /><br />The media hound Morriseys hitched their wagon to Marcou's star about a year ago. It has been mutually beneficial. According to the press release, the spokessinger has made over 30 TV and radio appearances for "Baby Safe Haven New England" since then. Go over to My Space <a href="http://www.myspace.com/babysafehaven">Baby Safe Haven</a> and click on "videos" for an entire BSH-Marcou docudrama. Nothing sells records like dead babies.<br /><br />During her whirlwind tour of Nebraska, Marcou dropped by the Koby Mach show on KLIN. Koby wasn't there, but Kevin Thomas was. In a nearly 6 minute <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3ng8WsT_GY">interview</a>, Marcou cluelessly discussed the corporate pop, politics. and cultural co-option nexus of which she is the culmination (so far) that the Morriseys constructed starting in 2004-2005 with their unforgettable <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NRNQmtUAUg">Baby Safe Haven Rap</a> and attempted recruitment of teens into their midlife crisis. What happened to the BSH ring tone? I wanted one. I am, however, the proud owner of a BSH t-shirt, gifted me by Jean Morrisey herself, during an encounter on Beacon Hill.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnt28v3NkAs4v65OQwX9-IZCI4kLwHAOAr-iaNrUJaJEAbnh2JvWWauV2GU2NUGVVcx3w2XPZ6DW64yXkexkmIOKOnwHvkl9Y6K7okqLTL24xS2oPRlFEl2qgFrZhBzqR9t-naIVf71UM/s1600-h/Renee+Marcou.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnt28v3NkAs4v65OQwX9-IZCI4kLwHAOAr-iaNrUJaJEAbnh2JvWWauV2GU2NUGVVcx3w2XPZ6DW64yXkexkmIOKOnwHvkl9Y6K7okqLTL24xS2oPRlFEl2qgFrZhBzqR9t-naIVf71UM/s320/Renee+Marcou.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273166158084189458" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">THE INTERVIEW</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">T</span><span style="font-style: italic;">HOMAS:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">You predominantly started in the northeastern part of the country. How did you get in to the "baby safe haven" issue?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />MARCOU</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Well, the directors of Baby Safe Haven New England reached out to me through an interview they had saw me on and wanted to know if I was interested. And, of course, I jumped right on it. You know, anything with a powerful message I like to be a part of. So--And I truly believe in it.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />THOMAS:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">How long have you been in involved?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />MARCOU</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Just about a year now.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />THOMAS;</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">And so when you go to radio stations and televisions stations--particularly in New England and now branching out to other parts of the country, as well--I know you were talking about Hawai'i a little bit earlier When you go to places like that, you are somewhat at home behind a microphone. Tell us, about your background first.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />MARCOU:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Well, I am a singer and a songwriter, so I'm pursuing a music career. I've been-- I've been doing that for so many years. I'm releasing an album coming out soon, and I really just got involved with the Baby Safe Haven Law about a year ago, you know. I want to grow with it and have it grow with my career as well.</span><br /><br />and later, still trying to get an answer:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">THOMAS:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">I'm a little curious as to how a pop singer/songwriter got involved in this. I know they contacted you, but what inside you made you get involved?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />MARCOU:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">You know, it's obviously a good cause. I really believe in it. There's a powerful message, you know. As I'm growing as a singer, I hope that that this law will be able to grow with me and eventually be doing tours, you know all radio stations all over the country.</span><br /><br />Through all that we still don't know why Ms. Marcou is engaged in promoting child abuse through abandonment, identity erasure, abrogation of parental rights, and an end run around best practice child welfare and adoption. We have no idea what she finds appealing about secret pregnancy and nobody-will-ever-have-to-know unattended birth. But it's a great career builder! After all, how many radio stations would have let her through the door without the BSH imprimatur?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MORAL PANIC</span><br />That Ms. Marcou and her scavenger mentors are flitting cross Nebraska's airwaves urging young women to secretly drop their newborns into the OFFICIAL STATE DUMPSTER is... well...crazy!<br /><br />Nebraskans don't dump their babies. In 12 years (1996-present) there were 5 reported cases of live newborn abandonment (2-3 left in relatively safe places) in Nebraska, 1 hospital abandonment, and 1 dead abandoned newborn, cause of death undetermined.<br /><br />In the four months that Nebraska's "unique safe haven law" was in force, at least 50 cases of Big Kid abandonment or attempted abandonment were reported. More have probably been disappeared from the records. Absolutely no newborns were dropped off. And you can't say nobody knew about the law.<br /><br />You can almost feel the hot tears of frustration: nobody, legally or illegally, dumped their newborn while the old law was in place.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWPpSpHNPhznEN04RCPiZOv2h_n_zGSymSEKLXE-bd_euiAoB3Khhc3MDmE0TQdOaR3MCAlcG0y9dPuKCd2VuCwsmClbegyr2yrLcXr2QT7BL3sJfY7nQ7YguejjMqTVOJl7car7c1z3E/s1600-h/Ernie++Chambers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWPpSpHNPhznEN04RCPiZOv2h_n_zGSymSEKLXE-bd_euiAoB3Khhc3MDmE0TQdOaR3MCAlcG0y9dPuKCd2VuCwsmClbegyr2yrLcXr2QT7BL3sJfY7nQ7YguejjMqTVOJl7car7c1z3E/s320/Ernie++Chambers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273163803213189282" border="0" /></a>Sen. Ernie Chambers (l) feels their pain,too. Chambers, opposed to any kind of legal child dumping, made possibly the most astute comment throughout the Special Session when he opined "toot-toot" as the safe haven train rushed down the track. Chambers told the Judiciary Committee that he could be guarantee that no newborns would be dumped in the state before the start of the regular Unicam session in January 2009. Maybe even longer. But the Monday <a href="http://journalstar.com/articles/2008/11/24/news/local/doc492a175b90d87758519122.txt">Lincoln Journal Star</a> reported in a frontpage puff piece on Marcou and the Morrisesys that "safe haven advocates say it's a real threat."<br /><br />Damn it! Dump those babies now!<br /><br />Marcou's new CD is out, and her album, "Don't Let Go" will be released soon. Her two singles have gotten a lot of play: <a href="http://blip.tv/file/626389">Collide</a>, about a female sexual predator picking up a one night stand and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LmfiDhipSU">Don't Let Go</a> which includes the words:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">When everything inside ya tells you</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Don't let go</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Don't let your love slip away</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">How could you let her go?...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">...Hold on </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Hold on</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Hold on to me</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Hold on </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">How do I get through to you?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Hold on </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Hold on </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Hold on</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Don't, don't run away</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> Don't leave me here without your love</span><br /><br />Who says baby dumpers don't to irony?<br /><br />Or maybe they're a thick as a brickMarley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-75053768062082556602008-11-26T02:24:00.009-05:002008-11-26T03:40:55.381-05:00Closed Courtrooms, Closed Processes, & Potentially, Retro-active Records ScrubbingSo Monday, in what could set a pattern for the "safe haven" cases, the court hearing for the first of the abandonment cases disappeared into a closed court session.<br /><br />Nebraska, having non-anonymous legalized child abandonment, now appears to want things closed on the back end, in the court hearings.<br /><br />Clearly this is more of the state attempting to cover its own ass than any genuine privacy concerns as the names of both the parents and the kids are not merely in the public record, but some parents have come forward to the media doing interviews and using their children's names on Television and in print media.<br /><br />None-the-less, yesterday Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Douglas Johnson took the "rare" step of closing the hearing. No reason was given for having done so.<br /><br />This particular case, dating back to September 1rst is not counted among the official Nebraska DHHS "safe haven" cases, as the boy was left off at a police station. Police stations are not state designated dump sites. The boy was however, placed in foster care following the abandonment, so he was certainly no less dumped than any of the other kids.<br /><br />Not only is his case not among the officially state recognized "safe haven" statistics, but now his court proceedings have gone behind closed doors as well.<br /><br />See <a href="http://www.newswaverly.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20207079&BRD=2712&PAG=461&dept_id=556239&rfi=6"></a><a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10497479"><span class="headline">Judge closes hearing over teen left by mother at police station</span></a>:<br /><blockquote>In a rare decision, a Douglas County judge closed a court hearing Monday in a case related to the Nebraska safe haven law.<br /><br />The hearing was for a 14-year-old boy whose mother left him Sept. 1 at the Omaha Police Department, mistakenly thinking that it qualified as a "safe haven.''<br /><br />His mother was expected to enter a plea to an allegation that she neglected the boy by leaving him at the police station.<br /><br />When the hearing was about to start, attorneys approached the bench to speak privately with Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Douglas Johnson, who then announced that he was closing the hearing.<br /><br />No written motion was filed, and no reason was given for the decision.<br /></blockquote>Fortunately, the Omaha World-Herald is still paying attention.<br /><br />Unlike most of the rest of the world who seem to think the situation is now 'resolved' and attention can now shift elsewhere, the World-Herald staff appear to understand what a unique situation the Nebraska legislators and Governor created by passing their "child" abandonment law, and they continue to keep a watchful eye (as best they can what with closed hearings and all) despite the roadblocks thrown in their way.<br /><blockquote> The World-Herald objected in court and requested a delay to consult with its attorneys.<br /><br />Johnson would not delay the hearing, saying it was important to expedite the case for the child's sake.<br /><br />"What an unfortunate decision,'' World-Herald Executive Editor Mike Reilly said. "The U.S. Constitution, Nebraska statutes and common law all call for the public's courtrooms to remain open to the public. Exceptions are to be made only through a public hearing process that was flouted here without explanation.''</blockquote>In short, to whatever extent, the World Herald staff 'get it'. They understand that secret hearings on cases Nebraska would far rather just go away, far from the public's gaze are not an acceptable outcome.<br /><blockquote>The World-Herald is continuing to follow safe haven cases through those proceedings in order to educate the public about the law and its ramifications.<br /></blockquote>Perhaps the paper, like those of us who have been nose down in the details of these cases have come to understand that what happened in Nebraska was extraordinary, and that the ongoing child welfare mess on the back is likewise extraordinary.<br /><br />Certainly most of these kids who were legally abandoned would most likely not have been were it not for the actions of Nebraska lawmakers. Much as the world's attention is easily distracted, for some of us these kids are not to be forgotten.<br /><br />Their ordeal, far beyond the mere act of being "legally abandoned" is ongoing. Their cases are only now beginning their journey of winding through the courts. Their custody issues and situational stability are still very much up in the air.<br /><br />To the paper's credit, they understand that the issues these kids face didn't fade just because much of the media glare has moved on.<br /><br />The World-Herald is also fighting for open hearings in the Gary Staton case. This will be particularly critical as the Staton kids are also <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/10/nebraska-staton-abandonment-and-indian.html">at the heart of what may well be the first Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) claim</a> in relation to any state's "safe haven" law.<br /><br />Equally critically important, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nebraska DHHS has filed a motion to retro-actively strip identifying information out of public documents</span>.<br /><br />This would <span style="font-weight: bold;">create the first retro-active removal of information already in the public record relating to kids dumped under the law</span>, in essence, a form of after the fact anonymity, something the Nebraska lawmakers did not write into the law in the first place.<br /><br />The DHHS is doing an end run after the fact, <span style="font-weight: bold;">attempting to obliterate information already in the public record by way of the courts.</span><br /><blockquote> The World-Herald also is fighting efforts to close a hearing in one of the official safe haven cases.<br /><br />That case involves a father who left his nine children at a hospital under the safe haven law. The case increased national publicity about the safe haven law.<br /><br />An HHS attorney filed a motion to close an Oct. 8 hearing a day before the hearing and requested that identifying information about the children and witnesses be removed from public documents.<br /><br />The HHS attorney argued that the children's need for privacy outweighed the public's interest.<br /><br />The World-Herald argued that access serves an important function to provide information about the cases. Additionally, family members have granted press interviews.<br /><br />That decision is on hold while HHS is appealing another issue in the case.</blockquote>Back in the September 1rst case, we see precisely what Marley and I have been writing about, <span style="font-weight: bold;">when one parent dumps a kid, the other parent's parental rights are trampled</span>. Now it appears the boy's father hopes to gain custody.<br /><blockquote>In the police station case, the guardian ad litem filed a motion last week requesting that visits between the teen and his mother be suspended temporarily at the suggestion of the boy's therapist.<br /><br />Action on that motion took place during the closed hearing.<br /><br />The court's order detailing the mother's plea and any required services for her, determined during the closed hearing, was unavailable by the time the court closed for the day.<br /><br />Johnson commended the mother for making positive progress.<br /><br />A portion of the hearing about the boy's father was held in open court.<br /><br />The couple are divorced, and the mother had legal custody of the teen.<br /><br />The father has been visiting his son, and HHS workers recommended making those visits unsupervised.<br /><br />The father's lawyer said he hopes that the teen can live with him.</blockquote>This morning, the Omaha World-Herald published another article about the closed hearings, <span class="headline"><a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10497916">Bruning upset haven hearing closed</a>:<br /><blockquote>Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning on Tuesday told lawyers for the State Department of Health and Human Services that they may not file motions to close hearings or seal evidence from the public without his consent, which he expects to be rare.<br /><br /> "I can't foresee a circumstance where that would be necessary," he said.<br /><br />Bruning learned about the issue Tuesday through a World-Herald story about efforts to close two juvenile court hearings related to the safe haven law.<br /> <br />"The state's interest is that the public know everything we're doing," Bruning said. "That's what's going to rule the day at the end, even when the state business is a bit messy and less than pleasant, as it has been in these safe haven cases. It brings up difficult realities."<br /> <br />Juvenile court hearings are typically public and part of the usual process when a child is placed in foster care.<br /> </blockquote>Then we learn </span>Juvenile Court Judge Douglas Johnson closed the hearing thinking that the boy abandoned at the police station was a safe haven case, which clearly, according to Nebraska DHHS it never was.<br /><br />This is remarkable, as <span style="font-weight: bold;">it means even judges hearing these cases are unaware that some of these cases never qualified as "safe haven" cases</span>:<br /><blockquote>Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Douglas Johnson closed a hearing Monday about a 14-year-old boy whose mother left him Sept. 1 at an Omaha police station, mistakenly believing that it qualified as a "safe haven."<br /></blockquote>Clearly when it comes to the court phase, a ghost in the machine dump such as the September 1rst case is being treated as if they are official "safe haven" case. They're all lumped together for the judge hearing the case.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">If even the judges hearing the cases can't distinguish those that are 'official' vs. those that never met the Nebraska legal guidelines, then where are we?</span><br /><br />In any case, Attorney General Bruning said the closed hearing didn't come as a result of a DHHS motion:<br /><blockquote>Bruning said Tuesday that the HHS attorney, John Baker, did not make the motion to close the hearing.</blockquote>As for keeping the public record intact, the World-Herald brings up an interesting recent Nebraska precedent:<br /><blockquote>In the other case, an HHS motion is pending to close a hearing and remove identifying information from court records in the case of a father who left his nine children.<br /> <br />Jodi Fenner, HHS chief legal counsel, argued in court documents that the children's need for privacy outweighs the public's interest.<br /> <br />The World-Herald argued that access serves an important function to provide information about the cases.<br /> <br />Baker of HHS also argued extensively in December against the release of juvenile court exhibits about Robert Hawkins, the 19-year-old who killed eight people and himself a year ago at the Von Maur department store.<br /> <br />Sarpy County Juvenile Court Judge Robert O'Neal released the records, compiled when Hawkins was a state ward to receive mental health services as a teen.</blockquote><span class="headline"><blockquote></blockquote></span>Lauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-55134324890228218792008-11-25T18:41:00.014-05:002008-11-25T20:14:57.361-05:00Yolo County California teen dumped was another adopteeI wanted to include a few more links about the boy from Davis in Yolo County, California who was dumped Friday before Governor Heineman signed the 30 day limit into law. I blogged about his case very briefly at the time, <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/squeeking-in-under-wire-another-big-kid.html">Squeaking in under the wire, another big kid safe haven dump</a>.<br /><br />Keep in mind, this was the roughly 16 hour drive from near Sacramento California to the Southwestern-most corner of Nebraska, and Kimball County Hospital . Basically a 'cross the state line and dump him quick before the law changes' dump.<br /><br />Nebraska DHHS has their <a href="http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/newsroom/newsreleases/2008/Nov/safehaven12.htm">press release about his case</a> from the 22nd. They label him the 36th case in the <a href="http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/children_family_services/SafeHaven/cases.pdf">official statistics</a> (link opens a PDF.)<br /><a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/chidlren-of-corn-nebraskas-dumped.html"><br />Our unofficial stats</a>, find him somewhere closer to at least number 47. (We feel secure in saying even our estimates are low.)<br /><br />He is now in the process of being sent back to California.<br /><br />These first two articles go into a little bit of detail about the way in which he was dumped:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/257/story/1425559.html">Nebraska to send back abandoned Davis teen</a><br /><blockquote><p>She told the boy to pack his bags, and with her oldest son and a friend, drove all night.</p><p>Only when they were at the hospital did she tell her son she was leaving him there.</p><p>She said the boy got out of the car and walked into the hospital without looking back.</p><p>The woman said she had expected to feel relief but instead felt "sick to my stomach."<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></p></blockquote><a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10497838"><span class="headline"></span></a>and<br /><br /><a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10497838"><span class="headline">California 'haven' teen being sent back</span></a><br /><blockquote> The mother didn't stay long after reaching the Kimball hospital, local officials said.<br /> <br /> She left "as soon as she dropped him off," said Kimball County Attorney Dave Wilson.</blockquote>Interestingly, there is no word about whether the Mother went in with him to dump him or not.<br /><br />If not, would he have otherwise been another self "haven" wherein the kid shows up without a designated dumper?<br /><br />I'll be keeping my eye out for more details on this, as Nebraska has refused to accept self "haven" cases in the past as part of the official "safe haven" program. I'm wondering if an exception was made for this boy as they had traveled so far.<br /><br />The following article (& videos) lay out the woman who adopted him's side of the story. (Legally, she's his "adoptive mother.")<br /><br /><a href="http://cbs13.com/local/nebraska.safe.haven.2.873102.html">Yolo Mom Who Abandoned Boy In Nebraska Speaks Out</a><br /><blockquote>Lori says she struggled to raise Kevin ever since taking him in as a foster child at age four.<br /></blockquote>(He had reached 14 by the time he was dumped.)<br /><br />Be sure to see the 3 videos connected to this last piece. In one, the woman claims she was unaware that Friday was the last day before the law was set to age down, she thought it was going to change at the end of the month. (Note that at the end of <a target="_blank" mce_href="http://cbs13.com/video/?id=42873@kovr.dayport.com" href="http://cbs13.com/video/?id=42873@kovr.dayport.com"> this video segment</a><span class="mceItemHidden">, the California law is erroneously described as being for infants 14 days a<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">nd</span> younger, California's legalized abandonment law actually only applies to infants 3 days old or less.)</span><br /><br />Despite her promise:<br /><blockquote> She told Kevin, her 14-year-old son, "if you walk into this hospital, they will find a home for you."<br /></blockquote>Odds are pretty slim a 14 year old with a so called "troubled past" is going to be adopted by someone new anytime soon. He has been in Nebraska foster care for the last few days as preparations were being made to ship him back to California.<br /><br />This final article confirms his adopted status:<br /><a href="http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=6523998"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>Davis mother drops kid off in Nebraska</a><br /><blockquote> She had adopted him when he was four years old.</blockquote>19 of the 34 kids included in the <a href="http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/Children_Family_Services/SafeHaven/SHChrt111708.pdf">most recent version, updated November 17th, of the Nebraska DHHS "matrix of commonalities of safe haven cases"</a> (link opens a PDF) are currently or had previously been state wards.<br /><br />12 of the 34 tabulated cases were listed as "Adopted/Guardianship or Relative Placement."<br /><br />As the California boy came in after this latest version, he has not been included in these statistics yet. (Nebraska made it up to 36 officially counted cases before the law changed, the "matrix" only goes up through number 34 so far.)<br /><br />As I have said before, the crisis these generation 1.0 of the dump kids in Nebraska face is in many cases a crisis of adoption and kids already entangled in state care.<br /><br />The next generation, those dumped under version 2.o of the dump law, those 30 days and younger, remain to be seen.<br /><br />There has however been one case of a self "haven" who falls squarely between the two generations, a <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/big-kids-just-keep-on-coming-12-year.html">12 year old</a> who was <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/todays-12-year-old-was-another-self.html">disqualified</a> and is going by and large unnoticed. He came in on Sunday after the law had aged down.<br /><br />But as for Kevin, from California, he is unfortunately just another kid dumped into Nebraska's "returns department" for no longer desirable adoptees.<br /><br />Sure, everyone wants one when they're young and cute, but similar to many adopted pets, as they grow older, bigger, and less manageable, now kids like those once cuddly and adorable pets have been dumped, abandoned by those who no longer wanted them.Lauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-19241684990727297102008-11-24T19:08:00.001-05:002008-11-24T19:11:14.596-05:00BASTARD NATION LETTER TO GOVERNOR AND UNICAM: AGING DOWN DID NOTHING TO CHANGE MESSAGE THAT IT'S OK TO DUMP YOUR CHILD<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUPcAxspbXu96nLuizpzGlOOoGglEL0GU0SuQLo2j0iN5af2E4oK0ZhjYj1ASIEG4EhIdAylmY2R5Ie2AoIf88iuCI38dmqMZQMcsfxpLJCipv9v38yeWVAr7KZkhrTU6U6HjgSWJoWw/s1600-h/Heineman+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUPcAxspbXu96nLuizpzGlOOoGglEL0GU0SuQLo2j0iN5af2E4oK0ZhjYj1ASIEG4EhIdAylmY2R5Ie2AoIf88iuCI38dmqMZQMcsfxpLJCipv9v38yeWVAr7KZkhrTU6U6HjgSWJoWw/s320/Heineman+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272378735208455890" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Bastard Nation sent this letter to Nebraska governor Dave Heineman today. It is also going out to the Unicam and selected Nebraska media.</span><br /><br />Dear Governor Heineman:<br /><br />Bastard Nation, the Adoptee Rights Organization, is deeply troubled by the decision of last week’s Special Session, to repeal LB 157 and replace it with the equally odious LB 1. By doing so, Nebraska, institutionalized child abandonment, making it just another normal choice for parents unable or unwilling to fulfill their responsibilities to their children.<br /><br />Since their inception in Texas in 1999, Bastard Nation has opposed all so-called “safe haven” laws, which we call “baby dump laws.<br /><br />The causes of child dumping are social isolation, fear, family dysfunction, mental illness, substance abuse, poverty, and lack of social services or ability to access those already in place. LB 1 and its previous bill, don’t address these deep-rooted social and economic problems. They just make them “go away,” out of sight out of mind. The problems of parents, whether they are a frightened 15-year old mom of a newborn or a 55-year old grandpa caring for a mentally ill grandson, are very real, and they cannot and should not be solved by a quick-fix, government facilitated and promoted child abandonment program.<br /><br />Child abandonment is child abandonment no matter at what age and what kind of a comforting name you slap on it. Just because a child can’t remember what was done to him or her, doesn’t lessen the act, the pain, the harm, or the questions those kids will endure throughout their lives. Nebraska’s new plan to divvy up children by age, into those worthy and those unworthy of abandonment protection is not acceptable nor is it best child welfare practice. Aging down to 30 days simply creates a new set of abandoned children and their families who will suffer the lifelong consequences of bad legislation.<br /><br />Nebraska had it right the first time. It was the last state to pass a “safe haven” law. It could have been the first to repeal before more families are harmed or even destroyed.<br /><br />Last week, Nebraska’s children needed an advocate—a friend. For those too young or unable to speak for themselves, they needed a voice. Up until the very vote on Friday morning, a bill could have been introduced to permanently repeal LB 157 with no amendments or new bills later. Nebraska could have initiated a child-centric, compassionate common sense approach and message that the state does not support any form child abandonment under any circumstance. The Unicam rejected that option and took the quick-fix out.<br /><br />Nebraska’s kids got a law that continues to abuse them through legal baby dumping. They got a task force that will pat itself on the back and do nothing. The victims will remain voiceless.<br /><br />Aging down LB 157 did nothing to change the message that it is OK to dump your child. As long as Nebraska condones the abandonment of any child, all children—and their families-- are in danger.<br /><br />Sincerely yours,<br />Marley Greiner<br />Executive ChairMarley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-58949794082835637372008-11-24T13:26:00.007-05:002008-11-24T13:38:07.252-05:00A reason we're not hearing from (at least one of) the kids themselvesBacktracking here a little, Saturday, the Wall Street Journal ran a major story on the Nebraska legalized abandonments, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB122728078741248013-lMyQjAxMDI4MjI3NDIyODQwWj.html">Safe Haven: a Mother's Agonizing Choice</a>.<br /><br />The article provides more information about some of the kids from the parents' perspective.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />In Tyler's case at least, he is effectively shut up by conditions the state has put upon his placement:<br /><blockquote>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, <span style="font-weight: bold;">saying it was a condition of Tyler's placement with his family</span>. State officials also declined to make Tyler available.</blockquote>(emphasis added)Lauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-37132799186215752682008-11-23T16:54:00.009-05:002008-11-25T21:11:21.884-05:00National Safe Haven Alliance Executive Director ignores the realities of Nebraska's kids livesOver time, I've seen a lot of what I consider delusional statements about child welfare and kids' realities out of the National Safe Haven Alliance, but this one really takes the cake.<br /><br />Yesterday, via a <a href="http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/23/abandoned-kids-a-troubling-sos/print/">Moonie Times (Washington Times)</a> article we get this little gem:<br /><blockquote>Ironically, not a single one of those children relinquished was an infant, said Tracey Johnson, executive director of the National Alliance of Safe Havens. Besides, she added, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nebraska has one of the best social service networks in the country</span> that provides temporary foster care until parents and children "can get their heads back together."</blockquote>(emphasis added)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">You have got to be kidding me.</span><br /><br />Ms. Johnson is talking about a system currently under federal restrictions that came as a result of a federal inquiry!<br /><br />Nebraska <a href="http://newsok.com/oklahoma-is-no.-2-for-kids-in-state-care/article/3311861">removes more kids per-capita</a> from their families than any other state. They have the most kids living in state care. (As of October '08.)<br /><br />Nebraska has been hard at work trying to bring it's current system up to even the most basic child welfare standards in order to avoid up to <a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3985/is_/ai_n25348112">potentially more than $250 million in penalties</a>.<br /><p></p><blockquote><p>When federal officials conducted the previous audit, Nebraska failed to meet minimum national standards for protections against a list of priorities including child abuse and neglect foster care, financial support and health care. </p> <p>The federal inquiry came as part of a national drive to curb domestic violence and to try to reduce the number of homicides related to domestic violence. </p> <p>In 2002, Nebraska was among the states with the highest per capita numbers of child fatalities.</p></blockquote><p> </p>Back in 2006, this is how the <a href="http://www.columbustelegram.com/articles/2006/06/27/news/news3reform.txt">Columbus Telegram summarized the situation</a> not long after the number of children in the state's child welfare system reach an all time high (in April):<br /><blockquote>Hahn said the governor was simply telling HHS how to handle the issue, but there was no plan for resolution.<br /><br />“There is no specific action, no funding commitment to make these things happen,” Hahn said. “He is providing neither the mechanism nor the funding to make (improvements).”<br /><br />“The situation is so critical a lawsuit was filed against the governor and the state of Nebraska,” he said, referring to a pending federal lawsuit that alleges the state is endangering children with an “understaffed, underfunded and unresponsive” foster care system.<br /><br />The class-action lawsuit was filed last year in U.S. District Court in Lincoln by New York-based Children's Rights, the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest and several private law firms on behalf of the 6,000 children in the state's foster care system. One of the children, identified only as “Paulette V.,” was placed in 17 different foster homes or facilities and was repeatedly physically and sexually abused during 12 years in foster care.<br /><br />The lawsuit says many foster homes are overcrowded, often housing as many as six children at a time, and many children do not receive adequate medical care or mental health services.<br /></blockquote>In 2006, despite Governor Heineman's hype, the numbers continued to tell a sad story.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.voicesforchildren.com/foster.htm">Voices for Children in Nebraska gathered some key facts here</a> that provide a sketch overview of out of home care in Nebraska based on the 2006 census report (the most recent):<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li> 10,972 children in out-of-home care-Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, 2006</li><li> 55.1%of children in foster care have experienced four or more placements- Source: State Foster Care Review Board, 2006</li><li> 36%of children in foster care have had four or more different caseworkers- Source: State Foster Care Review Board, 2006</li></ul>These are kids being bounced around, placement after placement, caseworker after caseworker.<br /><br />By 2007, the Feds were arguing Nebraska had improved enough to avoid penalties, but the groups the brought the suit pointed out the ongoing problems, see <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/content/elert/federal_government_approves_nebraskas_improved_child_welfare_system_nebrask/">Federal Government Approves Nebraska's Improved Child Welfare System; Nebraska Appleseed Argues Still a Long Way to Go</a> for:<br /><blockquote>Recently, the federal government found that Nebraska had improved its child welfare system enough to avoid federal penalties. In response, Gov. Dave Heineman claimed that Nebraska’s satisfaction of its federal Program Improvement Plan, was a “major milestone.” Unfortunately, <span style="font-weight: bold;">these improvements still do not meet even minimal federal standards for a decent foster care system</span>, and Nebraska’s Health and Human Services System recognizes that there is still far to go. - While even marginal improvements in this system can be deemed good news, to hail the federal approval as a major step or a signal that significant changes have been made in Nebraska’s child welfare system would be a mistake - and a costly one for foster children in Nebraska.<br /></blockquote>(emphasis added)<br /><br />All of this set against a backdrop wherein Nebraska's children aren't doing so well:<br /><ul><li>According to Voices for Children's annual <a href="http://www.voicesforchildren.com/pdf/Kids%20Count/Kids%20Count%202007.pdf">Kids Count report for 2007</a> (by way of <a href="http://journalstar.com/articles/2008/01/15/news/local/doc478ce42f2ae98936196738.txt">this Journal Star article</a>)- 15 percent of Nebraska children were living in poverty and 36 percent were from families considered to be low income. And, between 2000 and 2005, the report stated, the poverty rate for Nebraska children rose 50 percent.</li><li>45,000 Nebraska children (10.1 percent of the child population) did not have health insurance coverage in 2006 (according to this <a href="http://www.voicesforchildren.com/pdf/press/census%20poverty%20data.pdf">Voices for Children press release</a>- link opens a PDF)</li><li>Also, from the same report (by way of the Journal Star article cited above) 71 percent of all black children living in Nebraska were from low-income families, which the report described as families earning 200 percent of the federal poverty level or less. In 2006, the federal poverty level was $20,000 for a family of four, so such a family could have an income of up to $40,000 and still be considered low income under the report’s guidelines. Of the state’s Hispanic children, 61 percent were from low-income families. For white children, it was 26 percent.</li><li>The same Journal Star article included this important figure-In 2006, 10,972 children were in out-of-home care at some point, an increase of 175 over 2005 and 611 over 2004.</li></ul>The Child Welfare League of America has a page full of basic statistics on Nebraska here, <a href="http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/Statefactsheets/2008/nebraska.htm">NEBRASKA'S CHILDREN 2008</a>. The child poverty numbers alone tell a sad tale.<br /><br />As I <a href="http://www.startribune.com/nation/34583429.html?elr=KArks:DCiUMEaPc:UiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU">quoted earlier</a>:<br /><blockquote>"We're trying to decide which hole to put a finger in, meanwhile the whole dike's falling down around us," said Topher Hansen, president of the Nebraska Behavioral Health Coalition.</blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>Then you have Governor Heineman's initiative to get the <a href="http://www.answers4families.org/family/foster-adoptive/news-articles/more-nebraska-children-exiting-welfare-system">young and cute</a> out of the system as quickly as possible, some via reunification with their families, some via adoption.<br /><br />Heineman specifically instructed child welfare officials to "prioritize" the cases of kids 5 years old and younger coupled with "find permanent homes for children who have been out of their homes for at least 15 of the past 22 months."<br /><br />In other words, if they're young and in the system, place 'em out whenever possible.<br /><br />Again, from the <a href="http://www.voicesforchildren.com/foster.htm">Voices for Children out-of-home care and adoption page</a>:<br /><blockquote>456 adoptions of state wards, up 79% from ‘05 (Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, 2006)</blockquote>The older kids, of course are not "prioritized". They are left to bounce around in the child welfare pinball machine until they age out.<br /><br />But even in other adoptions, Nebraska is showing disregard for parental rights.<br /><br />In this November 4th piece, <a href="http://www.throughtheeyes.org/articles/2008/11/17/in-re-adoption-of-rylee-r/">In re Adoption of Rylee R.</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>we see how issues of abandonment and Nebraska's premature elimination of parental consent as the prelude to termination of parental rights and adoption clearly in at least this case has been far too hasty, running roughshod over the rights of parents, leading to <a href="http://court.nol.org/opinions/2008/november/nov4/a08-210.pdf">a reversal in court</a>, (link opens a PDF):<br /><blockquote>The finding of abandonment, and the resulting consent to adoption, was improper because the petitioners did not provide clear and convincing evidence to establish the father’s intent to rid himself of parenting obligations in the 6-month period prior to filing the petition.</blockquote>The technical definition of "abandonment" by an adult under Nebraska state law appears to rely upon six months of essentially no contact before a child can then be declared legally abandoned.<br /><br />In order for a court to eliminate the necessity of obtaining consent to adoption in Nebraska, a child must be classified "abandoned."<br /><br />(Note that in our blog posts we use "abandoned" as an act as seen through the eyes of the kids themselves, not the technical Nebraska legal definition. The dumped kids most certainly feel "abandoned" by their parents when left at state designated dump sites, whether such lines up with the legal definition or not. This being "child-centered" writing, we go by what they kids themselves experience.)<br /><br />The push for moving kids out of the public system is in many ways ultimately a cost saving measure (all denials to the side) and an attempt to<span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span><a href="http://www.throughtheeyes.org/articles/2008/07/01/retooling-nebraska-child-welfare/">shift from a public model to a privatized/outsourced/subcontracted model</a><a href="http://www.throughtheeyes.org/articles/2008/07/01/retooling-nebraska-child-welfare/"> of delivery of child welfare services</a>.<br /><p></p><blockquote><p>To accomplish the change, state child welfare officials for the first time sought bids from private agencies.</p> <p>They signed contracts worth a total of $32.7 million this year with five agencies. Each is to provide a full range of services for one or more regions of the state. Contractors were chosen on a mix of program quality and cost. Each will be required to report how well their programs help children and families.</p> <p>The contracts replace those the state had with 116 agencies, each of which provided a more limited range of services in limited locations.</p></blockquote><p>(Please read the full article to get the full context of the subcontracting measures.)</p><a href="http://http//www.throughtheeyes.org/articles/2008/06/22/state-changing-how-troubled-families-are-served/">This Lincoln Journal Star article</a> explains more about the contracts and gives the dollar amounts involved:<br /><blockquote><strong>Agencies to provide services</strong> <p>These agencies have signed contracts to provide services in a specific region under the new system.</p> <p><strong>Southeast Service Area:</strong> OMNI Behavioral Health, $2,846,347; Cedars Youth Services, $3,580,925; and Visinet Inc., $2,730,983.</p> <p><strong>Western Service Area:</strong> Boys and Girls Home of Nebraska Inc., $5,096,562.</p> <p><strong>Central Service Area:</strong> Visinet, $1,899,229; and Boys and Girls Home of Nebraska, $2,488,125.</p> <p><strong>Northern Service Area:</strong> Boys and Girls Home of Nebraska, $7,674,062.</p> <p><strong>Eastern Service Area:</strong> Boys Town, $1,953,930; OMNI Behavioral Health, $3,931,574; and Child Saving Institute, $957,967.</p> </blockquote>The big 'winner' here is <a href="http://www.boysandgirlshome.com/">Boys and Girls Home and Family Services Inc</a>. who have facilities across Nebraska, Iowa and even in Alaska.<br /><br />Doing even a quick web search on such, we learn what kind of "parasitic organizers" are working on evangelizing kids in the Boys and Girls Home program.<br /><br />Here for example you will find the <a href="http://community.elevatorup.com/Brix/yfc/Brix?pageID=1276">Siouxland area Youth For Christ program aimed at the Boys and Girls Home kids</a>.<br /><blockquote><div class="articletitle"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Opportunity for New Program at Boys and Girls Home</span><br /><br /></div> <!-- Description --> <!-- Article Block --> <!-- If Image Selected --> <!-- Body --> Every Sunday YFC is at the Boys and Girls Home Community Center presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to approximately 60 young people. We call this "Sunday Live". They call it church. In one hour we say hi to every young person that comes through the doors, sing praise and worship songs and take a look at God's word. This is a vital ministry, but every significant story we have to tell about the young people we meet at the Boys and Girls Home takes place outside of this time. When we become involved in a young persons life, we see God's hand move.<br /><br />God has chosen to work through His people to reach people and that is through connection not performance. It is for this reason we covet your prayers asking God to build a unit mentor ministry in each unit at The Boys and Girls home. Each unit is comprised of 6-10 young people. We like to think of these new mentors as surrogate grandparents. The Boys and Girls Home has 20 such units.<br /><br />We are asking God to use us as His servants in this project; that we might get to experience His grace in the lives of the 200 plus students. The doors are open.<br /></blockquote><a href="http://www.boysandgirlshome.com/"></a>This could refer to either the Boys and Girls Home and Family Services in <span lkgal="undefined" jstcache="47" jsvalues="$title:m.title;$laddr:m.laddr;$addrurl:m.addressUrl;lkgal:m.lkgaddresslines;$features:features;$lkgal:m.lkgaddresslines"><span jsinstance="*1" jstcache="54" jsselect="m.addressLines" jsvalues="$addrline:$this;"><span dir="ltr" jstcache="62" jsdisplay="$title||!$laddr||!$addrurl" jsvalues=".innerHTML:$addrline;dir:bidiDir($addrline,true)">South Sioux City, Nebraska or the first of the B&GH facilities based in </span></span></span>Sioux City Iowa (the Iowa location is apparently the residential program), but it does give one a feel for the the kinds of "projects"/ministries Boys and Girls Home feel are appropriate in their residential settings.<br /><br />According to this <a href="http://www.newsminer.com/news/2008/jun/26/boys-and-girls-home-alaska-opens-house/">Daily News Miner article</a> on the opening of the Alaska facility:<br /><blockquote>The home’s philosophy is modeled after Dr. Sandra Bloom’s “Sanctuary Model,” a theory that focuses more on trauma-based issues that provides structure but in a nurturing manner.<br /></blockquote>Suffice it to say, <a href="http://www.sanctuaryweb.com/">Bloom</a> has some rather bizarre notions of what words such as "Trauma" "or "violence" mean:<br /><blockquote> Trauma is contagious. It spreads from person to person...</blockquote><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ></span>and<br /><blockquote>Thinking about violence as a contagious disease...</blockquote><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ></span>The so called “<a href="http://www.sanctuaryweb.com/">Sanctuary Model</a>” is based upon <a href="http://www.sanctuaryweb.com/Main/components_of_sanctuary_model.htm">components</a> such as<br /><blockquote>Training in attachment theory for all administrators, staff, support staff<br /></blockquote>"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_theory">Attachment theory/disorder</a>" or "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_therapy">Attachment therapy</a>" is not an official term used in the DSM IV. It is at best a piece of <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16382093">ambiguous </a>language or "unvalidated diagnosis". From the theory article (see footnote <sup id="cite_ref-chaffin_127-5" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_theory#cite_note-chaffin-127" title=""><span>[</span>128<span>]</span></a></sup> for citation):<sup id="cite_ref-chaffin_127-5" class="reference"><br /></sup><blockquote><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_disorder" title="Attachment disorder">Attachment disorder</a> is an ambiguous term. It may be used to refer to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_attachment_disorder" title="Reactive attachment disorder">reactive attachment disorder</a>, the only 'official' clinical diagnosis, or the more problematical attachment styles (although none of these are clinical disorders), or within the alternative medicine field, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoscience" title="Pseudoscience">pseudoscience</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_therapy" title="Attachment therapy">attachment therapy</a> as a form of unvalidated diagnosis.<br /></blockquote>Also see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Mediation_Cabal/Cases/2006-10-07_Advocates_for_Children_in_Therapy/copypage">this Wikipedia pag</a>e for:<br /><blockquote>The definition of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_Therapy" title="Attachment Therapy" class="mw-redirect">Attachment Therapy</a> is disputed and there is no generally recognized definition. For example, it is not a term found in the American Medical Association's Physician's Current Procedural Manual, 2006. It is also not found in Bergin and Garfield's Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change, fifth edition, edited by Michal J. Lambert, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2004.</blockquote>Quack "therapies" based on the notion of "attachment disorder" have a body count. Be sure to see this brief wikipedia entry on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candace_Newmaker">Candace Newmaker</a> and Colorado's and North Carolina's "<a href="http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bysection/chapter_14/gs_14-401.21.html">Candace's law</a>" enacted in her memory.<br /><br />Other sub-contractors include ("faith-based") Boys Town and ("faith based") Child Saving Institute (a partner agency to Project Harmony, the intake path for many of the "safe haven" kids.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.babylovechild.org/2008/09/25/nebraska-dump-law-just-how-deep-does-this-rabbit-hole-go/"> I profiled CSI and Project Harmony all the way back at the beginning of the Nebraska "safe haven" dumps</a>.<br /><br />As I <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/thursday-action-alert-dump-lb-1.html">quoted Nebraska State Senator Nantkes</a> during the "safe haven" discussions:<br /><blockquote>“How many task forces do we need? How many class action lawsuits do we need? How many Department of Justice investigations do we need?”</blockquote>If the Nebraska child welfare ongoing quagmire, barely staying one step ahead of federal penalties, is what Ms. Johnson and perhaps the National Safe Haven Alliance thinks passes for "<span style="font-weight: bold;">one of the best social service networks in the country"</span> they either haven't done their homework, or are clinically insane.<br /><br />Then again, if the whole point is to fast track those under 5 out into adoptions, should we be the least bit surprised when the <a href="http://www.babylovechild.org/2008/10/21/nebraska-attempts-to-slam-to-barn-door-only-creating-a-new-set-of-problems/">National Safe Haven Alliance, an outgrowth of the National Council for Adoption</a> loves it and thinks everything's just ducky?<br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 24px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;font-family:Georgia;font-size:15;" ></span><br /><a href="http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/23/abandoned-kids-a-troubling-sos/"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;font-family:Verdana;font-size:11;" ></span>Lauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-90873624141138877782008-11-23T15:30:00.007-05:002008-11-23T15:43:30.584-05:00Today's 12 year-old was another self "haven", disqualifiedToday's 12 year-old attempted to "safe haven" himself.<br /><br />The state of Nebraska has never counted kids who turn themselves over under the legalized abandonment law.<br /><br />So once again, another "safe haven" attempt goes down the memory hole.<br /><br />Marley and I of course, are counting all the "attempted" uses of the law and the interactions kids are having in relation to the law. So he will be included in our unofficial stats.<br /><br />(Our statistics are based on what they kids themselves are experiencing in relation to the law culled from media reports. They are child-centered, unlike the Nebraska <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">DHHS</span> stats that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">dismiss</span> many cases which makes it clear to kids, their experiences do not count.)<br /><br />I call cases like this self "havens" as there is no real "haven" on the other end of such for the kids.<br /><br />They also end up being counted in our stats as what I've been referring to as "ghost in the machine" cases. The kids are experiencing these things in relation to the dump law, but are never recorded in the official history.<br /><a href="http://www.kptm.com/Global/story.asp?S=9400864&nav=menu606_2"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ></span></a><p style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.kptm.com/Global/story.asp?S=9400864&nav=menu606_2">Possible Safe Haven Case after the Law Changes - Update</a></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><p></p><blockquote><p>A 12-year-old boy apparently tried turned himself in as an attempt to use Nebraska's former Safe Haven law.</p> <p>He arrived at Children's Hospital just after 11 a.m., today. The hospital handled the situation as a safe haven case. Omaha Police were called and the child was moved to Project Harmony.</p> <p>The Omaha police department says his parents filed a missing juvenile report for the child the same morning. The child is not being considered under the safe haven law.</p> <p>This is not the first case of a child trying to use the safe haven law. A 16-year-old tried to turn herself in under the old safe haven law in October. County attorneys said her case did not qualify under the law.</p></blockquote><p></p></span>Lauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-47089506028885584892008-11-23T13:56:00.005-05:002008-11-23T14:11:20.304-05:00The Big Kids Just Keep On Coming - 12 Year-Old Safe Haven Dump TODAYAs I said early Saturday morning on my post, <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/nebraskas-safe-haven.html">Nebraska's Safe Haven Roll of Shame:</a><br /><blockquote>Unlike this list of older kids, the next will (at least <span style="font-weight: bold;">if all goes according to the state's plan</span>) be made up of those 30 days and younger.</blockquote>(emphasis added)<br /><br />Well sure enough, nothing ever goes as planned.<br /><br />Today marks the first of the non-legalized big kid dumps:<br /><blockquote></blockquote><a href="http://www.kptm.com/Global/story.asp?S=9400667"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Safe Haven Use Continues After Law Changes</span></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><p></p><blockquote><p> A 12-year-old year old boy was dropped off today as a Safe Haven at Children's Hospital.</p> <p>A representative for Children's Hospital says he was dropped of at 11:11 a.m.</p> <p>Friday was the last day parents could use the safe have law for children up to age 18. After two months of children being left at Nebraska hospitals, a new Safe Haven bill was signed into law. Gov. Dave Heineman signed the bill Friday afternoon. It now only allows children 30 days or younger to be dropped off.</p> <p>More details are not available at this time.</p></blockquote><p></p></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:14;" ><b></b></span>Lauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-19020417977651516632008-11-23T10:55:00.001-05:002008-11-23T10:58:03.279-05:00COMPUTER HELL<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB94bsoQdBWwpFaox_YG41H53uwIbLYxER7-RPYCAOkNpUSBQ-hTJX7kAtneIABmkDVZQJNRCoAgefxlgh-ZA65rAMt9IKBdEklOXOyoc2gXLeBxxYCurirV9TRQeZ54ejW4oRjN9sXA/s1600-h/Gish+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 235px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB94bsoQdBWwpFaox_YG41H53uwIbLYxER7-RPYCAOkNpUSBQ-hTJX7kAtneIABmkDVZQJNRCoAgefxlgh-ZA65rAMt9IKBdEklOXOyoc2gXLeBxxYCurirV9TRQeZ54ejW4oRjN9sXA/s320/Gish+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271881128428195970" border="0" /></a>I am currently in the midst of computer hell. My laptop had a relapse after Klutzy Kat doused it with Earl Grey. My desktop has been been taken over by Satan: sticking cursor, frozen screen, and this morning, just for fun, backmasking. The problem should be cured in a couple days. I am trying to get a couple blogs out on Bastardette and Children of the Corn, but it's taking longer than it should. In the meantime, Sabina is going an incredible job of CoC and I urge you to read her latest.<br /><br />Note that the stats on Nebraska dumps are behind due to Computer Hell. I plan to fixt that today unless something else happens.Marley Greinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184124024369071862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-58065627121324050552008-11-22T18:20:00.007-05:002008-11-22T20:05:54.884-05:00As I said, even our unofficial statistics are lowToday's Omaha World-Herald carried this important story, <a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10494076"><span class="headline">Troubled families in limbo after law change</span></a>.<br /><br />Burried deep down in it is this revelation:<br /><blockquote>After getting help from Immanuel staff, seven parents and guardians who wanted to use the safe haven law ended up taking their children home, spokeswoman Kelly Grinnell said.</blockquote>Which means that counting just these seven attempts from Immanuel Medical Center alone, the numbers go up.<br /><br />Looking over Marley and my <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/chidlren-of-corn-nebraskas-dumped.html">unofficial statistics</a>, we <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/nebraskas-safe-haven.html">caught several "attempted" dumps at Immanuel</a> through media reports.<br /><br />I do not know if the seven overlap with, or are in addition to the ones we found:<br /><br /><b>25.- 26. October 21 2008</b><br />female 16 (with baby)<br /><em>Dumper:</em> self, escorted by aunt<br />Place Omaha Immanuel MC<br /><i>NOTE: </i>mother attempted to SH herself and her baby<i><br /></i><br />and<br /><i><br /></i><b style=""><i style="">37. November 3, 2008<o:p></o:p></i></b><br />Unknown, 18<br /><i style="">Dumper</i>:<span style=""> </span>unk<br />Place: <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Omaha</st1:place></st1:city> Immanuel MC<br />NOTE: AttemptedLauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-60204315523576971912008-11-22T11:30:00.005-05:002008-11-25T19:17:16.971-05:00Squeaking in under the wire, another big kid safe haven dumpWell, clearly gas prices are down again.<br /><br />Must have been one hell of a road trip.<br /><a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3918&u_sid=10495154"><br /><span class="headline">Safe haven case No. 36 beats deadline</span></a><br /><br /><blockquote> One last child came in under Nebraska's unique safe haven law before the law changed Saturday.<br /> <br />A 14-year old California boy was left late Friday afternoon at the Kimball County Hospital in Kimball by his mother, who had driven to Nebraska.<br /> <br /> Kimball County is in the southwestern corner of the Panhandle.<br /> <br />The boy was placed in a foster home while Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services staff collect more information about the family and contact appropriate agencies in California, according to an HHS news release Saturday morning.<br /> </blockquote><br /><a href="http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/34928994.html">Last Minute Safe Haven Case Makes 27</a><br /><blockquote><span name="storyText" class="headlines" id="storyText"><p>A 14-year old boy from Yolo County, California, was left at the Kimball County Hospital, in Kimball, late Friday afternoon by his mother, who drove to Nebraska. </p> <script language="Javascript" type="text/javascript">if (self['plpm'] && plpm['Mid-Story Ad']) document.write('<table style="\" border="\"><tbody><tr><td align="\" valign="\">');if (self['plpm'] && plpm['Mid-Story Ad']){ document.write(plpm['Mid-Story Ad']);} else { if(self['plurp'] && plurp['97']){} else {document.write('<scr'+'ipt language="Javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://cas.clickability.com/cas/cas.js?r='+Math.random()+'&p=97&c=6500&m=87&d=21407&pre=%3Ctable+style%3D%22float+%3A+right%3B%22+border%3D%220%22%3E%3Ctbody%3E%3Ctr%3E%3Ctd+align%3D%22center%22+valign%3D%22bottom%22%3E&post=%3C%2Ftd%3E%3C%2Ftr%3E%3C%2Ftbody%3E%3C%2Ftable%3E"></scr'+'ipt>'); } }if (self['plpm'] && plpm['Mid-Story Ad']) document.write('</td></tr></tbody></table>');</script> <p>Todd Landry, director of the Division of Children and Family Services for the Department of Health and Human Services, said there was only one use of Nebraska’s safe haven law on November 21, the last day on which the safe haven law applied to children up to age 18. </p> <p>The boy is currently in a foster home. DHHS is in the process of gathering additional information, including contacting the appropriate agencies in California. </p> <p>This brings the total number of uses of LB 157 to 27, and the total number of children left at a hospital to 36 since September 13. LB 157 went into effect on July 18. </p></span></blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote></blockquote>Lauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-49889410344129702632008-11-22T00:01:00.002-05:002008-11-23T14:11:06.065-05:00Nebraska's Safe Haven Roll of Shame<p class="MsoNormal">The following is a listing of kids reported on by the media all but one of which that got at least far as a hospital, taken there either by parents or guardians to be legally abandoned. While some made it into the official state tabulation others were dismissed as attempted but not meeting criteria, such as the boy left at a police station rather than a hospital.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Others are what I've termed self "havens," kids who handed themselves over via the "safe haven" expecting to find help, only to be left uncounted, as the dump law protects those who do the dumping, not to the kids themselves.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">All these are culled from media reports that Marley and I have pulled since the Child dumping in Nebraska began back on September 1.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">We already have almost all of them listed here on <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/chidlren-of-corn-nebraskas-dumped.html">our unofficial tabulation of the damage the Nebraska dump law has done to date</a>, but tonight, as Nebraska attempts in vain to close this chapter of its legalized child abandonment social experiment only to begin another, that of the legalized abandonment of younger kids only, I felt it was important to really look at these kids again.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Not by way of 'one last time' as both these kids and Nebraska itself are going to be living with the consequences of these three months of child welfare disaster for a long, long time yet to come, but as a way of understanding that kids dumped under what I've termed dump bill 1.o are not to be forgotten.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Behind every one of these statistics is a kid.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And a shattered family and home.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">And friends and schools.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And neighborhoods and extended communities.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">And for them, things will never be the same again.</p><p class="MsoNormal">So before everyone rushes off into dump law 2.0 let's take a long hard look at what damage has already been done. These kids are going to need support and attention for a long time to come.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Please understand that if I understand the testimony of various Nebraska hospital representatives from last Monday correctly, these are only SOME of the kids that were taken to state hospitals.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Even by what little we've been able to pull from newspapers and television webpages, the <a href="http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/children_family_services/SafeHaven/cases.pdf">Nebraska DHHS numbers</a> are an undercount. Potentially a vast undercount.</p><p class="MsoNormal">But this is the tip of the iceberg we've been able to document.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Every one of these kids has a name but to protect the kids, we leave that off the data. I'm numbering them here for the first time not because these kids are numbers to us, but so that readers can see and compare to the DHHS tabulation (35.)</p><p class="MsoNormal">Marley and I are both adult adoptees. From what I'm told, I spent a least a little time in foster care. We empathize with these kids for many reasons, both obvious and deeply personal.</p><p class="MsoNormal">These kids are ultimately what this blog is about, working to prevent more kids being added to this, or any other state's "safe haven" roll of shame.</p><p class="MsoNormal">By shame I don't refer to the parents nor the kids. I'm speaking of the state itself. It is nothing short of shameful that legalized child abandonment has become social policy in this country (everywhere except <a target="_blank" mce_href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/kids-and-parents-need-real-haven-from.html" href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/kids-and-parents-need-real-haven-from.html">Washington D.C.</a> that is.)<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>1. September 1, 2008 </i></b><br />male, 14<br /><em>Dumper:</em> mother<br /><em>Place:</em> Omaha police station<br /><i style="">NOTE:</i> <span style="">attempted</span><br /><br /><b><i>2. September 13, 2008</i></b><br />male, 15<br /><i>Dumper: </i>custodial maternal aunt<br /><i>Place: </i>Lincoln Bryan GHMC West<br /><em>Special family status:</em> in kinship care<br /><br /><b><i style="">3. September 13, 2008<br /></i></b>male, 11<br /><em>Dumper:</em> maternal grandmother<br /><em>Place:</em> Omaha Immanuel MC<br /><em>Special family status:</em> reportedly adopted by maternal grandmother<br /><br /><b><i>4. September 20, 2008</i></b><br />female<em>,</em> 13<br /><i>Dumper:</i> mother<br /><i>Place:</i> Omaha Immanuel MC<br /><br /><b><i>5. September 23, 2008</i></b><br />male, 18<br /><i>Dumper:</i> self<br /><i>Place: </i>Grand Island St Francis MC<br /><i>NOTE: </i>attempted<i><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i style="">September 24, 2008:<span style=""> </span></i></b><i><br /></i><b><i style="">6. </i></b>female, 1<br /><b><i style="">7. </i></b>male, 6<br /><b><i style="">8. </i></b>male, 7<br /><b><i style="">9. </i></b>female, 9<br /><b><i style="">10. </i></b>male, 11<br /><b><i style="">11. </i></b>female, 13<br /><b><i style="">12. </i></b>female, 14<br /><b><i style="">13. </i></b>male, 15<br /><b><i style="">14. </i></b>male, 17<br /><i>Dumper: </i>father<br /><i>Place:</i> Creighton UMC<br /><br /><b><i>15. September 24, 2008</i></b><br />male, 11<br /><i>Dumper:</i> mother<br /><i>Place:</i> Omaha Immanuel MC<br /><br /><b><i>16. September 24, 2008 </i></b><br />male, 15<br /><i>Dumper: </i>guardian maternal uncle<br /><i>Place:</i> Omaha, Immanuel MC<br /><em>Special family status:</em> in kinship care<br /><br /><b><i>17. October 5, 2008</i></b><br />unk, 12<br /><i>Dumper:</i> male<br /><i>Place:</i> Lincoln LGH West<br /><br /><b><i>18. October 5, 2008</i> </b><br />male, 12,<br /><i>Dumper: </i>aunt at request of guardian maternal grandmother<br /><i>Place:</i> Omaha, Immanuel MC<br /><i>Special Family Status:</i> in kinship care<br /><br /><b><i>19. October 6, 2008:</i></b><br />female, 15<br /><i>Dumper:</i> unknown,<br /><i>Place:</i> Lincoln Bryan LGH West<br /><i>NOTE: </i>attempted<br /><br /><b><i>20. October 7, 2008</i></b><br />female, 14<br /><i>Dumper:</i> grandparents<br />Place: Omaha, Creighton MC<br /><em>Special family status:</em> in kinship care<br /><i>NOTE: </i>Iowa dump<br /><br /><b><i>21.- 23. July 16-October 6, 2008</i></b><br />various<br />Place: Omaha, St. Elizabeth MC<br /><i>NOTE:</i> <span style="">3 attempted</span><br /><br /><b><i>24. October 13, 2008</i></b><br />male, 13,<br /><i>Dumper: </i>mother with grandmother, and aunt,<br /><i>Place:</i> Omaha Immanuel MC<br /><i>Special family status:</i> adopted<br /><i>NOTE: </i>Michigan dump<br /><br /><b>25.- 26. October 21 2008</b><br />female 16 (with baby)<br /><em>Dumper:</em> self, escorted by aunt<br />Place Omaha Immanuel MC<br /><i>NOTE: </i>mother attempted to SH herself and her baby<i> </i><br /><br /><strong>27. October 21, 2008</strong><b><br /></b>male 10 months<br /><em>Dumper:</em> mother<br /><em>NOTE: </em>attempted safe haven with DIY mother<br /><br /><b><i>28. October 22, 2008</i></b><br />male, 17<br /><i>Dumper:</i> mother<br /><i>Place:</i> Omaha Immanuel MC<br /><br /><b><i>29. October 25, 2008</i></b><br />male, 12<br /><i>Dumper: </i>mother<br /><i>Place:</i> Lincoln Bryan LGH East<br /><i>NOTE: </i>Georgia dump<br /><br /><b><i>30. October 27, 2008</i></b><br />female, 15,<br /><i>Dumper: </i>mother<br /><i>Place:</i> Omaha Creighton MC<br /><br /><b><i>31. October 28, 2008</i></b><br />female, 15<br /><i>Dumper:</i> father<br /><i>Place:</i> Omaha Immanuel MC<br /><br /><b><i>32. October 28, 2008</i></b><br />male, 17<br /><i>Dumper: </i>mother and stepfather,<br /><i>Place:</i> Lincoln Bryan LGH West<br /><br /><strong><i style="">33. O</i>c</strong><em><b>tober 29, 2008</b></em><br />male, 17<br /><i>Dumper:</i> Legal guardian grandmother<br /><i>Place:</i> Nebraska MC<br /><em>NOTE:</em> already state ward<br /><br /><b><i>34. November 2, 2008</i></b><br /><i>female</i>, 16<br /><i>Dumper:</i> Mother<br /><i>Place:</i> Papillion, Midland Hospital<br /><i style="">NOTE:</i> Arizona dump; girl previously lived in Papillion area and she and her mother returned from living in Arizona a few days ago<br /><br /><b><i>35. November 2 , 2008</i></b><br />male, 16<br /><i>Dumper:</i> father<br /><b>Place:</b> Omaha Children's Hospital</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p><b style=""><i style="">36. November 3, 2008<o:p></o:p></i></b><br />female, 15<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dumper:</span> legal guardian<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Place:</span> <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Omaha</st1:place></st1:city>, Immanuel MC</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p><b style=""><i style="">37. November 3, 2008<o:p></o:p></i></b><br />Unknown, 18<br /><i style="">Dumper</i>:<span style=""> </span>unk<br />Place: <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Omaha</st1:place></st1:city> Immanuel MC<br />NOTE: Attempted</p><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">38. November 6, 2008</span><br />Male, 8<br />Dumper: mother<br />Place: Omaha, Bergan Mercy Hospital<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">NOTE: Indiana dump<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">39. November 7, 2008</span><br /></span><span>Female, 11</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Dumper:</span><span> mother</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Place: </span><span>Omaha, Bergan Mercy Hospital<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">40. NOVEMBER 9, 2008</span><br />Male, 17<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dumper:</span> mother<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Place:</span> Omaha, Creighton MC<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">41. NOVEMBER 10, 2008</span><br />Female, 18<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dumper:</span> mother<br />Place: LincolnLGH West<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">NOTE:</span> attempted<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">42. November 13, 2008</span><br />Male, 11<br />Dumper: father<br />Place: Lincoln, Boys Town Research Hospital<br />NOTE: Florida dump<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">43, November 13, 2008</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Male</span>, 14<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dumper:</span> mother<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Place:</span> Omaha, Methodist Hospital<br />NOTE: sister, 17 escaped before dump was complete (below)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">44. November 13, 2008</span><br />Female, 17<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dumper:</span> Mother<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Place:</span> Omaha, Methodist Hospital<br />NOTE: attempted (brother, 14--above--was successfully dumped)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">45. November 14, 2008</span><br />Male, 5<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dumper:</span> Mother<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Place:</span> Omaha, Immanuel MC<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">46. November 18, 2008<br /></span>Female, 15<br /></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">Dumper:</span> </span>her guardian, a relative<br /><span><span style="font-style: italic;">Place: </span></span>St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island<br /><br />We will continue to fight for these kids as best we can, lest they be forgotten and burried under the bureaucracy. Many, particularly the older kids and self "havens" are already in many ways forgotten as they never even made it into the official history.<br /><br />Unfortunately, rather than being able to end our list here, we may need to return to this to add newly uncovered details as they emerge.<br /><br />And sadder still, we now need to start a second list of Nebraska's next dumped generation, those dumped under dump law 2.0.<br /><br />Unlike this list of older kids, the next will (at least if all goes according to the state's plan) be made up of those 30 days and younger.<br /><br />None of this ends here, this sadly, is only the beginning.<br /><br /><br /><span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"></span></span>Lauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-5754296232728591172008-11-21T22:21:00.007-05:002008-11-22T00:27:04.744-05:00Taking Time to Remember the Brave Kids Who Said No to Safe Haven<p>Thursday November 13th, before the Nebraska legislature’s special session began, two siblings about to be legally abandoned by their mother at Methodist Hospital decided they didn’t want to be among Nebraska’s dumped kids statistics. The brother and sister ditched the dump and ran.</p> <p>The boy, age 14, was found pretty quickly, but his 17 year old older sister proved to be elusive.</p> <p>Within hours of their attempted escape, the first newscast hit.</p> <p style="margin: 5px 0pt;"><a href="http://www.kptm.com/Global/story.asp?S=9345930&nav=menu606_24_8" target="_blank"> Methodist Hospital Confirms New Safe Haven Case; Children Flee</a> KPTM(Fox/Faux news)<br />Posted: Nov 13, 2008 04:51 PM <script language="JavaScript"><span>var <span>wn</span>_last_ed_date = <span>getLEDate</span>(”Nov 13, 2008 4:51 PM EST”); document.write(<span>wn</span>_last_ed_date);</span></script></p> <p style="margin: 5px 0pt;"> <script language="JavaScript"><span>var <span>wn</span>_last_ed_date = <span>getLEDate</span>(”Nov 18, 2008 4:46 PM EST”); document.write(<span>wn</span>_last_ed_date);</span></script>Updated: Nov 18, 2008 04:46 PM<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:9;" > </span></p> <blockquote><p>Methodist Hospital confirms to KPTM FOX 42 that it received the state’s latest safe haven case Thursday afternoon.</p> <p>A hospital spokesman says a mother left her 14-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter at the hospital between 3:15 and 3:30pm.</p> <p>The pair ran from the hospital some time after they were dropped off. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services says the girl left the hospital, but the boy is in the state’s custody.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/children_family_services/SafeHaven/cases.pdf" target="_blank">Nebraska DHHS counted both of the kids as “safe haven” cases</a>, (link opens a PDF) even though the girl had fled before law enforcement could arrive. The <a href="http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/newsroom/newsreleases/2008/Nov/safehaven8.htm" target="_blank">Nebraska DHHS press release about their case and the incident,</a> labels them the 32nd and 33rd kids in the official count.</p> <p>Whereas usually, I’d call the Nebraska official stats too low, undercounting many instances of kids interacting with the “safe haven” systems out of the official tabulation, this may be the one and only instance of an overcount, the count going one kid extra high due to counting a kid who escaped before law enforcement could arrive and she could become an official “safe haven” case.</p> <p>As we would later learn, her brother only entered the system after being tracked down off hospital premises by police and taken into custody.</p> <p>My co-author on <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Children of the Corn</a>, Marley Greiner picked the story up that evening, giving it the headline on her evening update piece:</p> <p><a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/born-to-run-two-escape-safe-haven-mom.html">BORN TO RUN! TWO ESCAPE SAFE HAVEN MOM</a> November 13, 2008</p> <p>We made the decision that in our <a href="http://cornkids.blogspot.com/2008/11/chidlren-of-corn-nebraskas-dumped.html" target="_blank">Nebraska unofficial statistical tabulation</a> based on media reports, that she was more aptly characterized as what Marley has labeled an “attempted” dump. Based on the numbers we’ve uncovered, her brother was at minimum kid number 43. She would have been at least the 44th kid to interact with the law at least on the level of being taken, in this case under flase pretenses, to a hospital for the purposes of dumping them.</p> <p>(Naturally, as time has gone on, and we’ve started to hear directly from staff at the hospitals themselves, it’s become readily apparent both of these tabulations are gross undercounts. Numerous kids had been taken to hospitals with intent to dump and in one form or another never made it into the official tabulation, be that because the kids were later taken back home, or simply considered disqualified from the official count.)</p> <p>By the following day, the story was getting still more coverage. The legislative special session began on the 14th, and so in many ways, the fact that she was still on the run got overshadowed.</p> <p>Unlike the girl from Iowa who had been legally abandoned in Nebraska only to be returned to Iowa (as such was Nebraska’s policy towards out of state dumps) who went on to become a <a href="http://www.kearneyhub.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20196571&BRD=268&PAG=461&dept_id=577571&rfi=6" target="_blank">teen runaway</a>, this 17 year old girl had refused to be dumped in the first place.</p> <p><a href="http://www.wmur.com/family/17979720/detail.html#-" target="_blank">Girl Runs During Safe Haven Drop Attempt</a> WMUR November 14, 2008</p> <blockquote><p>According to the staff at Methodist Hospital in Omaha, the girl ran off before reaching the emergency room. Her 14-year-old brother stayed. He’s now in state custody, reported television station KETV in Omaha.</p></blockquote> <blockquote><p> Video- <a href="http://www.wmur.com/video/17980015/index.html">Teen Runs After Drop</a></p></blockquote> <p>On Monday the 17th, in the public testimony portion of the Judiciary Committee hearing we heard testimony from Sara Juster of Methodist Hospital. She spoke briefly to the case.</p> <p>I’m paraphrasing as I don’t have the hearing transcribed yet, but going from my own personal memory and notes, she felt hospital ERs were inappropriate settings for older kids dumps, specifically because hospital staff could not “forcibly restrain” kids being dumped. Kids were able to get away before law enforcement could arrive.</p> <p>By the time Tuesday the 18th rolled around, we learned these two had an older sister who was not happy with the fact that her mother had tried to dump her siblings. In this interview with her more details came out:</p> <p><a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10490612" target="_blank">Sister wishes teenagers hadn’t been left</a> Omaha World-Herald November 18, 2008</p> <blockquote><p>The 28-year-old sister of two Douglas County teenagers left last week at Methodist Hospital doesn’t think her mother should have used the safe haven law.</p> <p>The mother told the teens, ages 14 and 17, that they were going to the hospital to visit another sibling, who she said had suffered a serious allergic reaction, the older sister said Monday.</p> <p>The teens ran from the hospital Thursday when they figured out the real reason.</p> <p>Police found the 14-year-old boy at a house a half-mile away. His 17-year-old sister still is missing.</p></blockquote> <p>To date, the mother herself has not spoken out.</p> <blockquote><p>The children’s mother said Monday that the situation was complicated. She said she did not want to speak publicly until her younger daughter has been found.</p> <p>The 17-year-old girl has been in the juvenile court system. In December 2005, she was placed on probation after being caught shoplifting. Her probation was revoked when she refused to obey a curfew, left home for 10 days and tested positive for drugs, according to court records.</p> <p>She was sent to the Douglas County Youth Center and a home in Sarpy County for troubled girls, but got into more trouble - skipping curfew and not going to school. A year ago, she spent time at the youth treatment center in Geneva, Neb.</p> <p>Despite that, she isn’t a bad kid, her older sister said. The 17-year-old held a part-time job and was expected to graduate from high school, her sister said.</p></blockquote> <p>We also learn a bit more about what happened to the brother who was caught.</p> <blockquote><p>The boy, who is a high school freshman, was taken into foster care but has been placed with relatives, his sister said. He has had no serious behavioral problems, she said.</p> <p>“He can be annoying sometimes,” his sister said, “but even that doesn’t give you the right to give up on him.”</p></blockquote> <p>Not surprisingly, none of the three kids are any too happy with the mother.</p> <blockquote><p>After talking to her mother, she still doesn’t understand why the teenagers had to be left at the hospital.</p> <p>“She knows that we’re mad at her,” she said. “I asked her if she feels guilty, and she does not feel guilty about it.”</p></blockquote> <p>By and large Nebraskans and the world for that matter were focusing on the special session. The girl, who remained ‘on the run’ throughout the week the legislature met, was paid little attention.</p> <p>That said, the Omaha World-Herald stayed on the story and when word came that she had finally contacted other relatives, it too was overshadowed.</p> <p><a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10492335" target="_blank">Safe-haven runaway contacts her relatives</a><span class="dateline"> Omaha World-Herald November 20, 2008</span></p> <blockquote><p> A teenager is safe and plans to reunite with relatives after fleeing from an Omaha hospital when she realized her mother was abandoning her and her younger brother under the state’s safe haven law.</p> <p>Relatives reported they had heard from the 17-year-old runaway Wednesday, the same day a Douglas County Juvenile Court judge worried aloud about the girl’s safety during a court hearing.</p> <p>“She needs to know she’s not in trouble here,” Judge Elizabeth Crnkovich said. “She needs to come forward so we can take care of her.”</p></blockquote> <p>We also get a little more detail about the younger brother, he was found by the police at a relative’s house.</p> <p>It must have been pretty harrowing to be taken from such into protective custody. One can’t help but wonder what went through his mind, did he feel he had done something wrong? If so, well, ironic that.</p> <p>It used to be those who abandoned children were the ones taken away by the cops, not kids themselves trying to avoid being abandoned.</p> <blockquote><p> Police soon found the 14-year-old at a relative’s house and placed him in protective custody.</p> <p>Crnkovich ruled Wednesday that the mother wouldn’t immediately be allowed to visit the two children. The judge ruled after a caseworker told her the 14-year-old boy was angry with his mother and didn’t want to see her.</p> <p>It’s believed to be one of the first times a judge didn’t grant visitation to a parent or guardian who used the safe haven law.</p> <p>“Can you blame him? Of course he’s angry,” said an adult sister of the two siblings dropped off.</p></blockquote> <p>Makes you wonder if the kids could just abandon the mom, you know, drop her off somewhere safe and never have to see her again.</p> <p>As for the girl herself?</p> <p>To date I haven’t found any articles saying she’s no longer on the run, though I suppose that could either be a failing on my part or a lack of interest on the part of the media.</p> <p>Wherever she is tonight, I hope she’s ok.</p> <p>And no, <strong>I won’t count her as a “safe havened” case</strong>.</p> <p>She and her brother did exactly what any kid would, they said no to being abandoned.</p> <p>“Safe Haven” through the eyes of the kids being dumped is clearly anything but.</p>Lauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218043436888772778.post-73947811002775886692008-11-21T17:27:00.007-05:002008-11-21T20:25:38.250-05:00The Final Nebraska Legislature Vote Count on LB 1<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMAgBOERD0irHtexzatimao5dReSoo55OpJyVSm21RKsy_QaihCcsmtncumypiOaP98NB8DxQ-4N4gAYdD6-HPHuweyHwRHOnPyP2lZv1c7bykZ55pGyxQ8NUFhl2wV1M7mnRT8cK-eEo/s1600-h/front_view300.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMAgBOERD0irHtexzatimao5dReSoo55OpJyVSm21RKsy_QaihCcsmtncumypiOaP98NB8DxQ-4N4gAYdD6-HPHuweyHwRHOnPyP2lZv1c7bykZ55pGyxQ8NUFhl2wV1M7mnRT8cK-eEo/s320/front_view300.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271247181611504850" border="0" /></a>(Photo courtesy of the Nebraska Unicameral Information Office)<br /></div><br />***<br />Update, full video of the vote is available <a href="http://www.omaha.com/">here</a>.<br /><br />The Omaha World-Herald's index of all their dump law articles can be found <a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10458731">here</a>.<br /><br />***<br /><br />Today's Nebraska <a href="http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/Current/PDF/Agenda/currentagenda.pdf">Legislative Agenda</a> (link opens a PDF) and <a href="http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/Current/PDF/Journal/s1day7.pdf">Legislative Journal</a> (link opens a PDF) are now online.<br /><br />As is the <a href="http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/Current/PDF/Slip/LB1.pdf">slip law copy</a> of the Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, Section 29-121.<br /><br />On <a href="http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=6171">LB 1</a> (child abandonment continues at 30 days or less safe haven bill), those voting for legalized infant (30 days or less) abandonment were, 43:<br /><br />Adams<br />Aguilar<br />Ashford<br />Avery<br />Burling<br />Carlson<br />Chambers<br />Christensen<br />Cornett<br />Dierks<br />Engel<br />Erdman<br />Fischer<br />Flood<br />Friend<br />Fulton<br />Gay<br />Hansen<br />Harms<br />Heidemann<br />Howard<br />Hudkins<br />Janssen<br />Johnson<br />Karpisek<br />Kruse<br />Langemeier<br />Lathrop<br />Lautenbaugh<br />Louden<br />McDonald<br />McGill<br />Nantkes<br />Nelson<br />Pahls<br />Pankonin<br />Pirsch<br />Raikes<br />Rogert<br />Stuthman<br />Wallman<br />White<br />Wightman<br /><br />Those voting against legalized infant (30 days or less) child abandonment, (which would have kept the Nebraska law at legalized "child" abandonment, those 17 or less in practice) were, 5:<br /><br />Dubas<br />Kopplin<br />Pedersen<br />Preister<br />Synowiecki<br /><br />Excused and not voting, 1:<br /><br />SchimekLauren Sabina Kneislyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884130321084908557noreply@blogger.com1