Ten months ago, Lavennia Coover left her troubled son at an Omaha hospital under Nebraska's safe haven law, unsure what would happen.
“I didn't know if I would ever see him again,” she said recently.
Now her 12-year-old is coming home.
Coover is the first Nebraska parent to be reunited with a child left last fall under the state's unusual safe haven law.
On Tuesday at a court hearing, Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Christopher Kelly approved a four-week home visit.
“Are you getting everything you need?” the judge asked Coover's son in court.
“Yeah,” said the boy, in a sky-blue hooded sweatshirt and khaki cargo shorts.
That is a major change since Coover used the law Sept. 24.
The rural teacher said she resorted to it because her insurance would not cover longer stays in a psychiatric hospital for her son, who had attacked relatives and tortured a cat.
He was one of 36 children left at hospitals by 27 parents and guardians when the law had no age limit on children who could be left without fear of prosecution for the adults. It has since been limited to newborns.
Nebraska safe haven children were placed in foster care through the State Department of Health and Human Services, and HHS caseworkers, attorneys and judges determined what services the families needed to be reunited, if possible.
While most safe haven parents sought anonymity, Coover became an outspoken advocate, lobbying the Legislature for more services for children and being featured in national media.
Coover was angry when she learned recently that another safe haven parent, Gary Staton, is expecting a baby after leaving nine children to be taken in by other families.
“He puts all of us in a bad light,” Coover said. “I'm asking for help getting services, I'm not asking them to support me for the rest of my life.”
Coover said her son has made major progress in foster care, which included therapy services and a lengthy hospital stay.
He has spent weekends at home since about Easter and spent two weeks there this month.
He now does chores rather than throwing tantrums, and sibling arguments are routine bickering rather than scary confrontations, his mother said.
“We don't fear someone's going to get hurt,” Coover said.
Like some other rural residents, Coover will face a challenge to get services in Decatur, about an hour north of Omaha.
An HHS caseworker struggled to find an in-home family therapist, Coover said. The family will get intensive family preservation services, which have a worker visit the home to help with communication, parenting, behavior management and other skills.
Coover may have to drive to Omaha for other appointments.
Coover hopes to have her son settled at home before returning to work in late August.
Kelly asked court officials to report back in a month to determine whether the situation is working.
“I just don't want to make this final move and have it backfire,” he said.
While Coover's insurance has covered therapy and short-term services, Coover remains leery about getting and paying for intensive services when her son is no longer a state ward under HHS supervision.
“There's a lot of unknowns,” she said.
At the end of the hearing, the judge asked the boy, “You'll do everything you can to make it work?”
“Yeah,” he said.
Contact the writer:
444-1208, karyn.spencer@owh.com
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