Strollerderby : nebraska

Transgender Girl Kicked Out of School

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:30:00 GMT

An eight-year-old who is biologically male but who has always identified as female has decided to begin living openly as a girl, even though this will mean leaving her beloved elementary school.

The second grader’s parents consulted with therapists and transgender specialists for many years before deciding to allow their son to live as a girl. It’s the same story shared by all parents of transgender children: from the time she could talk, the child (who will remain anonymous to protect her identity) told her parents that she was really a girl; she asked constantly to be able to wear dresses and drew pictures of herself in girl’s shoes and swimsuits.

“I know 8½ sounds pretty young, but when we’ve been dealing with it for six of those 8½ years, that’s a pretty long time,” the girl’s mother said. The Nebraska therapist whom the parents consulted warned them that attempting to deny transgender feelings can lead to drug and alcohol abuse, depression, and suicide.

Unfortunately, the child’s Catholic school does not see it that way. Although the eight-year-old wanted to continue third grade with her classmates, the church told her family that she would have to find a new school if she wanted to live as a girl.

So this fall, the eight-year-old will enter public school. Her parents say it’s a “delicate balance between helping people understand and protecting a child who’s different.” While they have chosen to speak to the media about the inborn nature of being transgendered, they do not necessarily want their daughter to be identified as transgender by her peers. They have enrolled her as a girl in her new school, and hope she will be unquestioningly accepted as such.

Photo: KETV

Mom Bugs Kid's Teddy Bear to Spy on Ex

JeanneSager — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:04:00 GMT

Convinced your ex is up to nefarious deeds? If you're thinking about planting a recording device in your preschooler's teddy bear for his next visit to Dad's pad, you might want to REthink your plans.

William "Duke" Lewton of Nebraska is in the process of suing his ex-wife for bugging their four-year-old's bear to catch any big secrets revealed during his custody visits. As in, anything she could use against him in court.

Lewton alleges Dianna Divingnzzo or her dad (Lewton's former father-in-law) slipped a tape recorder into the little girl's bear, then tried to use the tapes during child custody proceedings in court. Too bad for Divingnzzo, the judge threw them out as inadmissable.

I'm not up on laws in Nebraska, but as a reporter in New York, I'm aware that in order to make a legal recording, at least one party to the conversation has to be aware he or she is being recorded. So if, say, Divingnzzo was caught on tape with Lewton - that part would likely be admissable here (since she knew they were being taped). Any other conversation would be off limits - including Lewton's talks with his daughter. The judge in the couple's custody case said even hearing the tapes would be illegal, as was the taping itself.

I feel kind of icky about the people who plop a camera in their kid's bear to watch the nanny. I can't imagine making the kid's toy part of my own plot to limit her time with Daddy. Talk about sullying the innocence of childhood.

The tapes, by the way, revealed nothing more than normal conversations between a father and his little girl, according to a report in the Omaha World-Herald.

The person who thought to rip a head off a kid's teddy bear, stuff a tape recorder inside and fasten head and body back together, however? Not normal. Not by a long stretch.

Image: CubeMe

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Nebraska Butt Bandit Caught

Brett Singer — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:00:00 GMT

OK everyone. News flash. Pay attention. Are you ready? Here we go:

Men are weird.

Not all men, of course. But I just don't see a woman doing something like this:

Ten misdemeanor counts have been filed against a man Cherry County authorities believe is the vandal some townspeople have dubbed the "Butt Bandit."
...
Larvie is suspected of leaving greasy, graphic imprints of his naked behind, and sometimes his groin, on the windows of stores, churches and schools in Valentine since the spring of 2007.
The marks were made with lotion or petroleum jelly.

Before you say, "oh, that must have been a high school kid, or some frat boy moron doing a pledge prank" allow me to inform you that the accused, Tom Larvie, is 35 years old.

He's 35 and put "greasy, graphic imprints of his naked behind" on windows. And "sometimes his groin." You know, if the mood struck him. And he's been doing this since 2007. Allegedly, of course.

"Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be weirdos..." C'mon! Sing it with me now!

Source: Newsday/AP
Image: hecklerspray

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If You Don't Behave, We'll Send You to Nebraska!

Kate Tuttle — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:34:00 GMT

Now that it's decided to add an age limit to its "safe haven" law, Nebraska is bracing for another rush of abandoned teens, left there by parents who say they just can't handle their children anymore. Originally intended to provide a safe place for parents (usually teen mothers) to drop off newborns, the law was meant to curb neglect, abuse and infanticide. But its unintended consequence has been to enshrine Nebraska as the place to bring -- and leave -- your troubled older child. According to reports from the state's Department of Health and Human Services, 28 of the 34 kids left at hospitals under the new law have been older than ten.

From the CNN article:

State Sen. Tom White said lawmakers have been caught off-guard by the number of teenagers taken in under the law. "What you've seen is an extraordinary cry for help from people all across the country," White said. "Nebraska can't afford to take care of all of them. Nebraska would like to be able to, but they know that we can't so we are going to have to change the law."

Lawmakers are meeting today to amend the law, adding an age limit to restrict the drop-offs to infants, particularly newborns. But it'll take a week or so for the new law to take effect, and that's what has Nebraska hospitals worried.

As the mother of a toddler and a teenager, I can testify that both try my patience on a daily basis, and both of them are relatively healthy and "normal," whatever that means. The children left at hospitals under the Nebraska law (most of them from Nebraska, but five from out of state) have, for the most part, suffered from some very serious problems -- most have received mental health servies, most have been incarcerated -- and their parents clearly were at the ends of some very long ropes. Still, it is almost impossible to imagine reaching a place where one would voluntarily give up one's child.

My fear, beyond the local and immediate one facing Nebraska officials right now, is that this is only going to get worse -- as our economic crisis deepens, as unemployment climbs, as insurance companies continue to inadequately support mental health services, more and more families will find themselves breaking under the strain. I'm glad Nebraska is rewriting its law to bring it back to the intended purpose. But I hope the new administration will be able to effect changes in our economy and society so that families of troubled older kids will be able to find their own safe havens.

Related: Morning News

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Teen Mom Turns Herself in to Safe Haven

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Just as Nebraska’s uniquely forgiving Safe Haven law is on the verge of being amended, a young mother makes a case for keeping it just the way it is. Currently, it’s legal to abandon children up to 18 years of age at a hospital. But since the law went into affect in July, so many teenagers (and zero babies) have been abandoned at hospitals that Nebraskan legislators are looking to revise the law so that it’s only applicable to infants who are three days old or younger.

But here’s an important use of the country’s only teen-inclusive safe-haven law that many hadn’t foreseen: a 16-year-old mom walked into an Omaha hospital, hoping to find a safe haven not only for her 10 month-old son, but for herself.

The young mother said that she had been physically and emotionally abused, and that her mother had kicked her out of the house. The teenager and her son are now in foster care, and her mother will most likely face prosecution.

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Nebraska to Abandon Abandonment Law

Nebraska Dad Who Dumped Nine Kids Speaks Out

Photo: Huffington Post

Nebraska to Abandon Abandonment Law

Madeline Holler — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:02:00 GMT

Not a single unwanted newborn was brought into a Nebraska hospital after the state passed its safe haven law. Instead, 18 children, ranging in age from 22 months to 17 years old, were abandoned by parents or guardians -- some of whom even came from out of state. The law, which failed to put a cap on the age of children the state would accept, apparently embarrassed the governor and lawmakers, particularly after a widower dropped of nine of his 10 kids last month.

Now, state leaders are hoping to turn one of the most lenient safe haven laws into one of the most restrictive.

They have agreed to amend the language of the law to limit anoymous, no-questions abandonment to parents of babies who are three or fewer days old.

The governor is hoping to get the law amended without calling a special session -- or leaving too much time for a flood of tweens and teens to come in. Health and Human services is spending $100,000 to promote a helpline for frustrated parents and guardians. They're also sending letters to adoptive parents and guardians of former state wards listing phone numbers and websites for agencies that can help them.

They are also reminding Nebraskans of Boys Town, a famous home for troubled youth.

What do you think? Is this a good thing? Is this enough? Is three days old a too restrictive age limit?

Dad Dumps Nine Kids Under Nebraska Safe Haven Law

Nebraska Dad Who Dumped 9 Kids Speaks Out

Teen Abandoned in Nebraska Goes Back Home to Iowa

Grandma Takes In 7 of 9 Abandoned Kids

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Photo: foxnews.com

Teen Abandoned in Nebraska Goes Back Home to Iowa

Madeline Holler — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:31:00 GMT

So the other day, yet another teen was abandoned at a Nebraska hospital. Problem was, she and her guardians were from a town in nearby Iowa.

This led some to wonder if they could press charges against the Iowa family, since this was a state law. In any case, the grandparents of the 14-year-old girl changed their minds and went back to pick her up today. The grandparents, who adopted the girl and would only say they abandoned her because of "supervision issues," won't be charged.

But this has sent Nebraska lawmakers into panic mode. They have to decide whether their safe haven law, which defined no clear age restrictions, has turned into a teen abandonment program. Of the 17 children (person under the age of 19) dropped off, only four have been under 10 years old.

Seems like Nebraska ought to work on some other kind of program to help desperate families.

Safe haven laws were meant to save newborn babies' lives. But it looks like there's an entirely different group out there who really needs help.

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Nebraska Dad Who Dumped 9 Kids Speaks Out

Grandma Takes In 7 of 9 Abandoned Kids

Finally, Some Good News from Nebraska

Dad Dumps Nine Kids Under Nebraska Safe Haven Law

Grandma Takes In 7 of 9 Abandoned Kids

JeanneSager — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:13:00 GMT

After a horrible year that included the loss of their mother and the abandonment of their father, the Straton kids of Nebraska got a break this week - from Grandma.

Joanne Manzer welcomed seven of her 10 grandchildren into her home after nine were abandoned at an Omaha hospital by their father, Gary Straton, under Nebraska's widely criticized safe haven law. Two other Straton kids opted for other homes so they didn't have to change school districts while a third is over 18 and already living on her own.

Straton spoke out last week after news broke of his decision to drop kids ranging in age from 1 to 17 at the hospital, stating the loss of his wife forced him to quit his job to take care of his kids. In turn, the loss of income made it tough to make ends meet, and Straton admitted he "fell apart." No wonder - it's the type of burden most of us can't imagine. But offers from family members that poured into the state after his story went public, and Manzer's offer to house the kids temporarily (they're still, technically, in state custody) makes me wonder: where were they the last few months? A father of 10 loses his wife, is forced to quit his job, worries about the rent, and the family just stands by? Did he refuse their help or was none ever offered? Was this grandmother in so much pain from the loss of her daughter (or daughter-in-law?) that she was blind to the problems?

This story and that of a mom reunited with her daughter after dropping the pregnant teen at another have put into perspective just how desperate the measures sometimes need to be to make up for desperate times.

Source: Associated Press

Image: Virtual Tourist

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Finally, Some Good News from Nebraska

JeanneSager — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:53:00 GMT

Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom for a family to get back on their feet. A mom who took advantage of the controversial Nebraska law that's been used as recently as this week to drop teenagers at designated safe place around the state, has been reunited with her daughter.

Martina Carilo told her story to TV crews last night in Spanish, her 8-year-old daughter interpreting. The little girl said her 14-year-old sister is pregnant and has been running away from home on a regular basis. Frustrated and thinking she had no place else to turn, their mom took the teenager to the Immanuel Hospital last Friday and said goodbye.

It was a shock to the teen girl, who spoke to the news crews too, the camera trained on her hands twisting in her lap. "I thought I was not going to see her anymore," she said. "I was sad being there and not seeing my mom anymore." Carilo quickly felt remorse too, and when she returned to the hospital, they set the family up with a counselor. The Carilos' church has gotten involved to provide support as well. And Martina can get her daughter back on track without having to fight with the courts because of a split second decision made out of desperation that - in the end - hurt no one. Heck, it really and truly helped her family.

It's an unhappy story, but it's got a happy ending, especially compared to the details released by the dad who lost his wife before abandoning nine of his 10 children earlier this week. My heart aches for every single member of each of these families, but I'm wondering why it has to come to essentially "legalizing" abandonment to give a frustrated parent the channel to finally find help.

That old adage "absence makes the heart grow fonder" has a lot of truth to it. Sometimes, kids don't listen. Sometimes, parents need a break. But in most states, getting a break from your child is nearly impossible. Remember Lynette kicking the kids out of the car and driving away on Desperate Housewives? She was gone for only a few seconds, but off Magnolia Lane, her butt would be sitting in a jail cell.

I remember my mom leaving me in an Aeropostale in a busy New Jersey mall one afternoon when we were back-to-school shopping. I was about this girl's age, and I remember we were fighting, as usual, about something stupid. Hello, I was a teenage girl and this was my mother - of course we were fighting! I was probably alone for no more than an hour, and the sheer terror of it made me a very quiet teenage girl on the ride home. And I was a pretty good kid. I didn't run away from home. I wasn't pregnant at 14.

Teenagers are maddening, and their parents aren't always that sympathetic. They sometimes forget what it was like to BE a teenager - no matter how recent it was. But parents who want help often face few options. Health insurance doesn't always cover family counseling. And that's if a family even HAS health insurance. Then there's finding time, a sitter for the other kids, and the list goes on. Then add in a teen pregnancy, a mom who's working to try to make ends meet for her two kids in today's economy . . .

I still think a blanket abandonment law is extreme, but holding parents liable for every twist and turn in the parenting process is ridiculous. Every child is different, and thus every path as a parent must be different. So how do we make it easier for everyone to raise their kids?

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Nebraska Dad Who Dumped 9 Kids Speaks Out

Madeline Holler — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:47:00 GMT

So that guy who took advantage of Nebraska's safe haven law and dumped his nine kids, ages 1 to 17, off at a hospital? He's speaking out. He said his life fell apart last year when his wife died -- after giving birth to their youngest child.

The widower also said he still loves his children, but that he couldn't care for them properly. "I hope they know I love them," Gary Staton told KETV. "I hope their future is better without me around them."

Here's why he says he took advantage of Nebraska's law, which allows parents to abandon, without questions or penalty, a child up to 19 years old who is in their custody:

After his wife died, he quit his job to take care of the five boys and four girls. So he couldn't pay his rent, utilities, or feed the family. He said he didn't think he could raise the kids without his wife and that he wanted them to be safe.

Stanton has a 10th child, an 18-year-old daughter who graduated from high school early. She was not a part of the drop off.

I'm overwhelmed just thinking about this family's situation. Here are some questions: what about Nebraska laws kept him from getting help with his rent? With that many kids, you'd think he'd qualify for any and every program out there. Plus, mental health? Did anybody check up on this guy?

Finally, I'm sitting here feeling super sorry for him and the entire family but of course, buzzing in the back of my mind was, why such a big family? But putting that aside, I wonder too: had it been the other way around -- dad died and mom chose to abondon the kids, I wonder what the sentiment would be?

Oh, and now that so many older kids are being abandoned in Nebraska, lawmakers are thinking of amending the law. What? That'll make these families' problems go away?

What do you think of this situation?

Photo: creightonhospital.com

Teen and Tween Legally Abandoned Under New Law

Madeline Holler — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:29:00 GMT

It is hard to argue with a law that allows parents to abandon their babies safely at a hospital, firehouse, etc., no questions asked. Especially considering the alternatives.

But when Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill that basically didn't limit the age -- tweens and teens were allowed, too -- I have to admit: I guffawed. Nobody's going to "anonymously" drop off children old enough to recite their phone numbers and point the direction home!

But get this: a couple of people did. Two boys -- 15 and 11! -- were left at Nebraska hospitals this past weekend. They are the first to be legally abandoned under the state's new law.

The teenager was dropped off by his 44-year-old aunt (his legal guardian). She said he has behavioral problems that she could no longer manage. The 11-year-old was dropped off by his mother, who said she believed she could no longer care for him. Authorities say neither showed signs of abuse or neglect.

What do you think? Heartbreaking? Outrageous? Or symptoms of a bigger problem. I mean, why didn't these women have more support for raising kids with behavioral problems? Where is the assistance for these types of special needs? Or is there plenty of assistance and these women just didn't care enough?

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Photo: bbc.co.uk

Religious Parents Claim Blood Testing Newborns Makes God and L. Ron Hubbard Angry

thezeroboss — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 15:09:00 GMT

It's hard to take someone seriously when they live in Wahoo, Nebraska. It's even harder to take them seriously when they're claiming a religious exemption that might ruin their child's life. This MSNBC article is nothing if not a demonstration of how syncretic Americans have become in their religious beliefs. Parents Ray and Louise Spiering claim to follow both fundamentalist Christianity and "some of the beliefs of Scientology", and don't care for a Nebraskan law that requires blood tests of infants 48 hours after birth. The Spierings objected because of Scientology's precepts regarding "silent birth", which discourages exposing the baby to loud noises even after it's popped from the oven. Yes, it's birth a la Katie Holmes!

How is this any different than Christian Scientists who eschew modern medical treatment, leaving their kids to die of treatable ailments? We're not talking about injection of a controversial vaccine here; these screenings are critical for detecting and treating rare diseases. Sorry, folks, but screw your religious beliefs. In this case, your child's health should trump whatever you might care to believe.

Have An Infant To Abandon? Move to Nebraska, Quick!

Karen Murphy — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 16:00:00 GMT

Nebraska's firefighters and hospital staff members may be extra busy from now on if State Bill LB157 passes, requiring that these already overworked workers collect abandoned infants and remand them to state police for eventual turnover to state adoption authorities.

So, you! Prom girl giving birth in the bathroom, you thought that was indigestion? Well, instead of heading to the nearest dumpster, head to the hospital! Just be sure you tell whoever you see there that you have no intention of returning for your child. Ever. Okay?

And you! Young couple there! You already have two kids, what, you can't deal with another one? Okay! You like firefighters, do you? How about you get a toy firehat for your little ones there while you hand over that squirmy bundle. Just be sure not to wait more than 6 days, you hear?

The right thing? Jeez, I don't know. But if you're truly not ready to be a parent, and you don't think you'll ever change your mind, this might be a safe(r) way to go. No harm, no foul. Good luck with it