November 24, 2008: I will be be double checking these stats in the next day or so.
I am still trying to piece together some serious writing on the Nebraska Fiasco. In front of me right now is a crate of documents that I’ve managed to file into some sense.It’s giving me a big headache. I’ve been able to ID by name about half of the Big Kids, along with the names of their parents and guardians and other personal information. I am not posting that personal information here.
Some of the Big Kids are adopted and I suspect more are adopted that we don’t know about. At least one is a state ward, and some are former state wards. (It’s a little difficult to determine past and current state care status, so I’m not including that right now.) Two people have attempted to safe haven themselves (one with her 10 month old son), but self dumping isn’t allowed because the law is about “whether an adult will be criminally prosecuted for the act of leaving a child.” (I’m sure the state would have eagerly removed the 10-month from the mom, though, if she insist otherwise). I thought AB 157 was about saving the lives of “endangered children.” If you’re not allowed turn yourself in, why would you turn in your kid?
Here is the chronology of dumps AND attempted dumps. They are part of the Nebraska Fiasco, too, and we cannot forget them.
This is a work in progress and subject to correction…and, of course update.
September 1, 2008
male, 14
Dumper: mother
Place: Omaha police station
NOTE: attempted
September 13, 2008
male, 15
Dumper: custodial maternal aunt
Place: Lincoln Bryan GHMC West
Special family status: in kinship care
September 13, 2008
male, 11
Dumper: maternal grandmother
Place: Omaha Immanuel MC
Special family status: reportedly adopted by maternal grandmother
September 20, 2008
female, 13
Dumper: mother
Place: Omaha Immanuel MC
September 23, 2008
male, 18
Dumper: self
Place: Grand Island St Francis MC
NOTE: attempted
September 24, 2008:
female, 1
male, 6
male, 7
female, 9
male, 11
female, 13
female, 14
male, 15
male, 17
Dumper: father
Place: Creighton UMC
September 24, 2008
male, 11
Dumper: mother
Place: Omaha Immanuel MC
September 24, 2008
male, 15
Dumper: guardian maternal uncle
Place: Omaha, Immanuel MC
Special family status: in kinship care
October 5, 2008
unk, 12
Dumper: male
Place: Lincoln LGH West
October 5, 2008
male, 12,
Dumper: aunt at request of guardian maternal grandmother
Place: Omaha, Immanuel MC
Special Family Status: in kinship care
October 6, 2008:
female, 15
Dumper: unknown,
Place: Lincoln Bryan LGH West
NOTE: attempted
October 7, 2008
female, 14
Dumper: grandparents
Place: Omaha, Creighton MC
Special family status: in kinship care
NOTE: Iowa dump
July 16-October 6, 2008
various
Place: Omaha, St. Elizabeth MC
NOTE: 3 attempted
October 13, 2008
male, 13,
Dumper: mother with grandmother, and aunt,
Place: Omaha Immanuel MC
Special family status: adopted
NOTE: Michigan dump
October 21 2008
female 16 (with baby)
Dumper: self, escorted by aunt
Place Omaha Immanuel MC
NOTE: mother attempted to SH herself and her baby
October 21, 2008
male 10 months
Dumper: mother
NOTE: attempted safe haven with DIY mother
October 22, 2008
male, 17
Dumper: mother
Place: Omaha Immanuel MC
October 25, 2008
male, 12
Dumper: mother
Place: Lincoln Bryan LGH East
NOTE: Georgia dump
October 27, 2008
female, 15,
Dumper: mother
Place: Omaha Creighton MC
October 28, 2008
female, 15
Dumper: father
Place: Omaha Immanuel MC
October 28, 2008
male, 17
Dumper: mother and stepfather,
Place: Lincoln Bryan LGH West
October 29, 2008
male, 17
Dumper: Legal guardian grandmother
Place: Nebraska MC
NOTE: already state ward
November 2, 2008
female, 16
Dumper: Mother
Place: Papillion, Midland Hospital
NOTE: Arizona dump; girl previously lived in Papillion area and she and her mother returned from living in Arizona a few days ago
November 2 , 2008
male, 16
Dumper: father
Place: Omaha Children’s Hospital
November 3, 2008
female, 15
Dumper: legal guardian
Place:
November 3, 2008
Unknown, 18
Dumper: unk
Place:
NOTE: Attempted
November 6, 2008
Male, 8
Dumper: mother
Place: Omaha, Bergan Mercy Hospital
NOTE: Indiana dump
November 7, 2008
Female, 11
Dumper: mother
Place: Omaha, Bergan Mercy Hospital
November 9, 2008
Male, 17
Dumper: mother
Place: Omaha, Creighton MC
November 10, 2008
Female, 18
Dumper: mother
Place: LincolnLGH West
NOTE: attempted
November 13, 2008
Male, 11
Dumper: father
Place: Lincoln, Boys Town Research Hospital
NOTE: Florida dump
November 13, 2008
Male, 14
Dumper: mother
Place: Omaha, Methodist Hospital
NOTE: sister, 17 escaped before dump was complete (below)
November 13, 2008
Female, 17
Dumper: Mother
Place: Omaha, Methodist Hospital
NOTE: attempted (brother, 14–above–was successfully dumped)
November 13, 2008
Male, 5
Dumper: Mother
Place: Omaha, Immanuel MC
November 18, 2008
Female, 15
Dumper: Guardian aunt
Place: Grand Island, St. Francis Medical Center
November 22, 2008
Male, 14
Dumper: Mother
Place: Kimball County Hospital
NOTE: California dump
Post law dump:
November 22, 2008
Male, 12
Dumper: self
Place: Omaha Childen’s Hopsital
NOTE: Boy attempted to SH himself
******
AGES OF DUMPEES:
0-1: 1 (+1 attempted)
2 0
3 0
4 0
5 1
6 1
7 1
8 1
9 1
10 0
11 5
12 3 (+1 attempted)
13 3
14 3 (+1 attempted)
15 7 (+ 1 attempted)
16 2 (+1 attempted
17 5 (+1 attempted)
18 0 (+2 attempted)
unk 0 (+4 attempted)
“OFFICIAL” DUMPS: 35
ATTEMPTED DUMPS: 13
TOTAL: 48
DUMPEES BY SEX
male: 22(+3 attempted)
female: 11 (+4 attempted)
unk: 0 (+5 attempted)
DUMPERS BY SEX
Male: 5 (=1 attempted)
Female: 19 (+7 attempted)
Both: 2
Unk: 2 (+4)
CURRENTLY KNOWN FAMILY STATUS OF DUMPERS (as reported)
Mother/Stepmother: 14 (+6 attempted—1 with baby)
Father/Stepfather: 4
Parents together: 1
Aunt: 2
Uncle: 1
Grandmother 2 (may be adoptive mother of grandchildren)
Grandfather: 0
Grandparents together 1
Unk 2 (+4 attempted)
Self: 0 (+3 attempted)
CURRENTLY KNOWN FAMILY STATUS OF DUMPEE (as reported)
Adopted: 2
Kinship care: 5 (2 may be adoptive mothers of their grandchildren)
Current state ward: 1 (in physical kinship care)
Biological: 11 (+1 attempted)
Unk: 16 (+10 attempted)
Self: 0 (+3 attempted)
PLACE OF DUMP:
Grand Island St. Francis MC: 1 (+1 attempted)
Kimball Countyh Hospital: 1
Lincoln Bryan LGH East: 1
Lincoln Bryan LGH West: 3 (+2 attempted)
Lincoln Boys Town Research Hospital: 1
Papillion Midlands Hospital: 1
Omaha: Bergan Mercy Hospital: 2
Omaha Children’s Hospital: 1 (+1 attempted)
Omaha Creighton UMC: 12
Omaha: Immanuel MC: 10 (+4 attempted)
Omaha: Methodist Hospital: 1 (1 attempted)
Omaha: Nebraska MC: 1
Omaha: St. Elizabeth MC: 0 (+3 attempted)
Omaha Police Station : 0 (+ 1 attempted)
REPORTED HOME OF FAMILIES:
Burt County: 1
Douglas County: 22 (+7 attempted)
Hall County( 1) ) (+1 attempted)
Lancaster County: 4 (+2 attempted)
Pima County, Arizona (Sarpy County): 1
Davis/Yolo County, California: 1
Miami-Dade County, Florida: 1
Smyrna, Georgia: 1
Washbash County, Indiana: 1
Council Bluffs, Iowa: 1
Southfield, Michigan: 1
unk: 0 (+4 attempted)
I would be curious to know out of all those dumped kids how many are adopted. What is the percentage?
Interestingly, this is a ploy to get babies, and what they are getting are kids that are well past infancy.
Safe havens have backfired. Those who passed this law thought there would be young mothers just dropping off those infants. Like that song its “Raining MEN” they thought it would be “Raining Babies”
Looks like a fiasco and those older kids are just a big part of the problems in our society when our society thinks families can be interchanged, switched up with different parents, and NO help to keep them intact.
Nebraska deserves everything it gets too bad and more.
I had no idea about the teenage mother with the baby. If that isn’t a cry for some help and support I don’t know what is. It is a shame on our society when a mother tries to safe haven herself and her child.
I am with you, I am sure they would have taken the infant with open arms.
As birth records are falsified and sealed in adoption, to “hide the dirty deed,” it will be forever impossible to know how many of these poor children are adoptees, if they or their adoptive parents choose not to speak up about it.
This sounds typical. Often the only help that a government on this continent will give families is to take their children, either for adoption or into foster care. If help had been available — financial, medical, counselling, respite care, etc — these abandonments would likely not happen.
So far I know of one “stranger” adoption–the Martin case from Michigan. The Martins claim they were “forced” to adopt the kid they dropped off because they wanted to adopt his younger brother.
There are two reported kinship adoptions. The first by the maternal grandmother; the second by the paternal grandmother. The Omaha paper reported yesterday that the girl in the Iowa case was adopted at birth by her father’s mother, Diane Grund.
The Martin case is verified; the other two aren’t, and are only reported as adoption by the press.
I suspect there are others In fact, through my research, I’m convinced that at least one other boy is adopted, though the A word hasn’t shown up in anything. Most of these kids have a long history of involvement with child welfare services and psychiatric treatment.
There were two more teen dumps over the weekend. One was of a teenage girl, formerly from the Omaha area, whose parents flew her in from Arizona. The initial report says she didn’t know she was being abandoned.
I’m not at home right now, but will be later in the day. I’ll update these stories and also this specific blog to reflct new information.
“The Martins claim they were “forced” to adopt the kid they dropped off because they wanted to adopt his younger brother.”
Yeah, that’s right. Break up the family that remains so that you can play your “as if born to” game. What specious, selfish, self-serving, thoughtless, cruel and totally inane reasoning. >:(
Robin, the court in Oakland County agrees with you!