Boys Town may take youth

Tysheema Brown may get the lifeline she was seeking when she drove 1,000 miles with her troubled 12-year-old to drop him off at a Nebraska safe haven last month.

Officials at Boys Town High School in Boys Town, Neb., said Wednesday they are in contact with the Smyrna mother about the possibility of admitting her son.

Meanwhile, Nebraska lawmakers voted to add an age limit to the law that has allowed Brown and dozens of other parents to abandon teenagers in the state’s care without fear of prosecution.

Brown said last month the year she spent at the school changed her life. She tried unsuccessfully last spring to get her son into Boys Town after he was found guilty of stealing a camera at school.

“We have a continuing care program at the school,” said school spokesman John Melingagio. “She is one of our girls. We do have alumni and a care staff that are trying to assist her.”

Melingagio said some members of the school’s Georgia alumni group have been in contact with Brown and her attorney. He declined to give additional information.

“If Tysheema wants to talk about it, it is her call,” Melingagio said.

A hearing on the boy’s future is scheduled for Dec. 4 in Cobb County Juvenile Court. He is being held in protective custody in Georgia after Nebraska authorities turned him over to state authorities the following week.

“We’ve got a court date, and we will be working towards a resolution,” said B.J. Bernstein, Brown’s attorney. “Her goal has always been to get the best care for her son.”

In an October interview with the AJC, Brown said the sixth-grader had been suspended from school twice and was on probation for stealing the camera.

Cobb school district officials confirmed last month that Brown was offered counseling twice, but refused both times.

After hearing about Nebraska’s safe haven law from her mother, Brown decided to drive her son there.

Nebraska is the only state where parents or caregivers can leave children as old as 17 at a state-licensed hospital without fear of prosecution for abandonment. Most states, including Georgia, have similar laws allowing parents to leave unwanted newborns at state hospitals. Georgia uses a seven-day threshold from the time of birth. So far this year, nine infants have been abandoned. In both 2006 and 2007, 18 infants were abandoned.

In a special session Wednesday, lawmakers in Nebraska gave preliminary approval to placing a 30-day age limit in the state’s safe-haven law, which previously didn’t specify an age limit. That loophole has resulted in 35 children —- mostly preteens or teenagers —- being dropped off in the state.

A final vote is expected Friday. The bill then goes to Gov. Dave Heineman, who says he supports a 30-day age limit.