Is a Safe Haven Really a Safe Haven, or Could it Cause More Harm?

Okay--this article was taken directly from www.msnbc.com. I put it on this blog spot to hopefully generate some conversation and I would love to hear your opinion on this subject.

Have you all heard about the"Save Haven" law that Nebraska has recently passed?

After reading the article please let me know what you think. Specifically, I'm interesting in hearing if you think the law actually provides a safe haven for unwanted children or if you feel that it just compounds the current problem and the potential problems the children may face.


LINCOLN, Neb. - Nebraska lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to adding a 30-day age limit to the state's safe-haven law.
The original safe-haven law was intended to prevent newborns from being dumped in trash bins or worse. Every state has such a law, but Nebraska's is the only one that lacks an age limit.
Since July, 35 children have been abandoned at state hospitals — many of them preteens or teenagers as old as 17.

Gov. Dave Heineman later signed the bill into law. The age limit will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and Nebraska will then join 13 other states with a 30-day age cap.
Five of the abandoned children have been from other states, including from as far away as Florida and Michigan.

Lawmakers also vowed to make sure families can get help in a crisis.
Six state senators formed a task force Thursday that promises to hand the Legislature proposals by the time it reconvenes in January.

Over the next 40 days, they'll work with child welfare experts, mental health specialists, hospital officials and others.

'Crisis with older children'"What surfaced was not really what we had intended ... we have a crisis with older children," said Sen. Arnie Stuthman, who introduced the safe-haven bill that was approved earlier this year.

Lawmakers, health officials, child welfare experts and even parents who abandoned their children under the law say it shows a lack of services for families in crisis, and a difficulty in obtaining what services exist.
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State officials disagree. Todd Landry, who oversees child and family services for the state, told a legislative committee earlier this week that some of the children were unnecessarily abandoned and that none was in immediate danger of being harmed.

Sen. Joel Johnson, chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, has said he expects his committee to also make recommendations to the Legislature.

Among Johnson's suggestions is that the state help make up for the lack of psychiatrists by training other professional health care providers to better handle problems brought to light by use of the safe-haven law.

Smoking Teens

This article was taken directly from cnn.com. I found it interesting and thought how many of you readers who smoke started as a teen or have a teenager at home who smokes.



FAIRFAX COUNTY, Virginia (CNN) -- It was just after 7 a.m. and Cassie Graham was lighting up her second cigarette of the morning.

Cassie Graham, a 17-year-old high school senior, joined a school support group to help her quit smoking.

A school bus passed her parked car, a sign that that it was time for the 17-year-old high school senior from Fairfax County, Virginia, to stop smoking and head to class.

If Graham has her way, that will be the last time she ever lights up.
"It's getting pretty bad," said Graham who started smoking at age 15. "It used to be fun and now I have to smoke. I know that it's not normal to smoke all the time, and I have to find some way to quit."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 20 percent of high school students smoked cigarettes last year. Smoking rates among ninth- to 12th-graders have remained stable for the past five years.

"When I see a young kid smoking, it's just so frustrating because I actually know the power of tobacco to cause disease," said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.

Nearly half of all adults in the United States who suffer from emphysema and 40 percent with chronic bronchitis are smokers, the CDC reports.

More than 430,000 Americans die each year from smoking-related causes, the American Lung Association estimates.

While researchers have a good idea how to help adults kick the habit, little information is available on what to do to assist teenage smokers.

"It's really hard for somebody who is a teenager in high school to stop smoking, even if they wanted to stop smoking," Brawley said.

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Peer pressure can be tremendous among young smokers, he said. What's more, Brawley noted, it may be difficult for a teenager to seek help from a doctor or counselor without a parent's knowledge.

Smoking cessation drugs, patches, gum and lozenges are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for anyone under 18.

So what's left to help a teen kick the habit? Support groups.
Cassie Graham signed up for a 10-week smoking-cessation class held during one of her free periods at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax County.

"I'm not of legal age to smoke," Cassie said. "So I was kind of skeptical at first, like 'Am I going to get in trouble for going to this class?'"

Samuel Wagner, a substance abuse counselor at the school, didn't discount Graham's concerns about showing up for the session.

"It's very gutsy," he said, "because students do have that fear that if they come to this group, all we're doing is rounding them up to get them busted."

Wagner, along with school counselor, Tami Marcheski, sat down with five students who've signed up for the support group called Not-on-Tobacco or N-O-T.

The American Lung Association designed the program a decade ago for regular smokers, ages 14 to 19, who want to quit.

Marcheski called the success rate at her school outstanding. "Thirty-seven percent of kids have quit and 60 percent reduced the number of cigarettes smoked," she said.
This particular session was called "quit day."

Cassie and her classmates talked openly about their reasons for wanting to quit. Almost everyone mentioned health concerns and the expense of the habit.

David Thomas, 18, added "I want to smell better. I won't have to use cans and cans of Axe. I can work out longer and I don't have to worry about carrying mints around."

Lia Pisa-Relli said she started smoking when she was 12. Now at the age of 17, she worries that she has a lot of breathing problems. "I want to be able to run. I can't even run up the stairs. I can't even walk up two flights of stairs. It's pretty bad."

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The counselors spoke with the teens about how to handle nicotine withdrawal symptoms. They passed out lollypops and stress balls to take their mind off cravings. They urged the students to lean on one another and their families for support.

Their final exercise of the day was to write down their concerns and fears about quitting on note cards.

Cassie read her comments aloud to the group: "One of my biggest concerns was that I wouldn't be able to quit, but now I know if I just stick to it and actually try hard to quit then I'll be able to."

She and her classmates crumpled up the cards and tossed them in the trash as if they were throwing away a bad habit.

Cassie's final words in class: "I can quit now."

Does He Have What It Takes (In Your Opninon)?

I know this is going to sound like the biggest open-ended question of all time but really, I’m curious. This year’s Presidential Election was one for the history books for obvious reasons—but what swayed your vote?

Did you choose to vote for one candidate over the other because of your desire for the promised change in our economy, or because of your passion for equality and the woman’s right to choose? Did you decided to vote for the candidate whose views on foreign policy or the sanctity of life most reflect your own?

I think most Americans have their opinions sprinkled on just about every major topic the former candidates addressed, but also have issues that touch their hearts and are passionate about. So, as questioned previously—what are yours?

What are the core issues you are concerned about, and do you believe that the man elected for the highest office in this great nation will be able to protect and nurture your hopes for a better tomorrow?

This blog is not intended to bash anyone by name, or to get reader’s hot and bothered. It’s just to get a better perspective on your views and what you feel are requirements that make a great leader.