Parents of Alliance safe-haven infant will voluntarily work with state health officials

Regional News

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- The first infant left at a Nebraska hospital since the state revised its safe-haven law has been permanently returned to his parents, a state official said Tuesday.

The baby boy was dropped off at an Alliance hospital July 20. His mother hadn't realized she was pregnant until she gave birth in a water-filled bathtub, according to court documents.

She told officials she had her sister leave the baby at the hospital. Two days later, as state officials were trying to find a foster home for him, she asked for him back.

Box Butte County Judge Charles Plantz dismissed the case Tuesday after all parties involved agreed to it, according to a statement from Todd Reckling, director of the Division of Children and Family Services at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

The parents will continue to voluntarily work with the department, although officials can't disclose what services available for families and children they might access.

Neither the parents' names nor their ages have been disclosed, including in court records that refer to them using only their initials. DNA tests confirmed that they are the boy's parents, HHS spokeswoman Jeanne Atkinson said.

Under Nebraska's safe-haven law, a person won't be prosecuted for any crime based solely on the act of leaving an infant at a state-licensed hospital.

The state revised the law last fall to include a 30-day age limit. The previous law, which took effect in July 2008, didn't include an age limit. That spurred a rash of drop-offs of mostly preteens and teenagers, including some from outside the state. None were infants.

---