Iowa Family Abuses Law To Teach Teen A Lesson

The 14-year-old girl from across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa, was left at Creighton University Medical Center on Tuesday by her grandparents.

She was the 17th child left under a state law that took effect in July but was the first from out of state.

Her abandonment set off concerns that Nebraska's broadly written law could make the state a dumping ground for unwanted children. The 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.

The guardian in this case used the law to "teach the girl a lesson," said Todd Landry, who heads Nebraska's division of Children and Family Services.

"That's not an appropriate use of the law, no matter where they're from," he said. There was no evidence of abuse, neglect or immediate danger, he said.

According to officials, the girl is back at her grandparents' house.

Brenda Beadle, a chief deputy in the Douglas County attorney's office in Nebraska, said a child protection case would not be filed in the 14-year-old's abandonment 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."

The prosecutor's decision was made in part because the grandparents wanted the girl back, Beadle said. But factoring in were assurances that 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.

The Iowa Department of Human Services will follow up as needed, she said.

Officials with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services have stressed that the safe-haven law should be used for children in immediate danger only.

State officials have said parents and caregivers contemplating using the law need to understand there is no guarantee a child could be returned to them if they change their minds. The placement may involve the courts, and the process of regaining custody may prove difficult.

Officials have encouraged parents to seek other resources before resorting to abandonment. They've urged desperate parents to ask for help from family, faith-based groups and other community services before abandoning their children at hospitals.