OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - An Iowa teenager dropped off at an Omaha hospital under Nebraska's safe-haven law is back home, in part because the grandparents who dropped her off soon changed their minds, officials said Thursday.
The 14-year-old girl from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was left at Creighton University Medical Center on Tuesday. She was the 17th child left under the state law that took effect in July. It was the first case of a child left from out of state and set off concerns that Nebraska's broadly written law could make the state a dumping ground for unwanted children.
Nebraska's safe-haven law absolves anyone of abandonment charges for leaving a child of any age at a state-licensed hospital. It doesn't, however, overlook other possible charges, including if a child had been neglected or abused.
Brenda Beadle, chief deputy in the Douglas County (Neb.) Attorney's Office, said a child protection case will not be filed because it didn't seem appropriate.
Beadle said she believed the girl was adopted by her grandparents. She declined to discuss the circumstances in which the girl was left at the hospital, saying only that it stemmed from a "supervision issue." As she understood it, the grandparents changed their mind within a few hours of leaving the girl.
The prosecutor's decision was made in part because the grandparents wanted the girl back, Beadle said. But an important factor as well were assurances the grandparents had the help they needed to safely welcome the girl back.
"Given that family lives in Iowa and had resources in place, it seemed like the appropriate thing to do," Beadle said.
Posted in Breaking_news on Friday, October 10, 2008 12:00 am
© Copyright 2009, wcfcourier.com, 501 Commercial St. Waterloo, IA | Terms of Service and Privacy Policy