Hospital chief calls safe haven cases 'gut wrenching'

Attorney General Jon Bruning said Sunday in an opinion on LB3, introduced by Sen. Annette Dubas of Fullerton, that only the portion of the bill pertaining to the amended age limit for the safe haven law would likely fall within the governor’s call for the special session.

Sen. Chris Langemeier of Schuyler added an amendment Monday when the Legislature met briefly to change the age limit to 30 days. Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery submitted an amendment Saturday to change it to 1 year.

Sensor said Alegent does not have a position on what the age limit should be — 3 days, 30 days, or 1 year — but would like to see senators come back in January and add support for families with older children, not just push the issue aside.

Providers, politicians and agencies need to come together to work both on identifying the gaps in services and educating parents on how to get help, he said.

There are “clearly gaps in services” for the behavioral and mental health of children, Sensor said. There’s really nowhere for a parent or guardian to get respite care without the involvement of law enforcement, for example, he said.

“Everybody’s trying to figure out what to do,” he said. “My view is that (the Department of Health and Human Services) doesn’t know any more than we do.”

As hard as the issues are for parents and children, they have been “incredibly difficult” for caregivers, he said, such as the hospitals’ nurses and social workers. They have watched children beg their parents not to leave them, promising to do better if they just will take them home.

“It’s gut wrenching,” Sensor said. “But worse, is the child who says nothing, who is already hopeless.

“We simply as a state need to do better for our youngest.”