MINDEN, Neb. — A failure of the system. That's what former neighbors say contributed to the death of 4-year-old Landon Payne of rural Kearney County. Landon's aunt, Sharon Payne Turnell, 37; her husband, Charles Turnell, 38; and her daughter, Katie Payne, 19, each have been charged with aiding and abetting child abuse that led to Landon's death Dec. 22. The family lived in Pleasanton, Neb., from September 2006 to October 2009. During that time, neighbors say they called law enforcement and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services numerous times to report suspected abuse and neglect. “No one ever really watched after them,” former neighbor Bernadine Dauel said of the children in the home. “They just took care of themselves. You never saw affection like you see with parents and children. They were just all there. They didn't have a ball or anything. The kids' biggest pastime in the summertime was just the hose and running water. That was their one thing to do for fun.” [...]
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Filed on August 3, 2010
Nebraska Court of Appeals
Not designated for permanent publication, A-09-1269
SUMMARY: Adjudication was proper where there was a prior case involving physical abuse by a brother against Seherzada and current credible evidence establishing that both brothers had physical harmed Seherzada and that the mother was allowing them to do so.  
On August 31, [...]

An Omaha center that provides psychiatric treatment for adolescent boys will close next May, raising concerns about the availability of such care. Officials of Cooper Village — one of just three organizations in Omaha providing residential care for that population — confirmed the decision to The World-Herald. Uta Halee Girls Village, which runs Cooper Village, and the Omaha Home for Boys, which helps pay for it, informed their staffs on Wednesday. Uta Halee's management agreement with the 47-bed Cooper Village will end next May. Uta Halee provides residential psychiatric treatment for adolescent girls, along with a range of community-based programs for girls and boys. [...]
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The Tenth Judicial District County Court is joining Douglas and York Counties to celebrate National Reunification Day 2010. Both the Nebraska Supreme Court and The Eyes of the Child Initiative have encouraged county and juvenile courts to join other courts across the nation to celebrate the reunification of families who have had their children removed from their custody within the juvenile court system. [...]
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Filed on July 27, 2010
Nebraska Court of Appeals
Not designated for permanent publication
SUMMARY: The mother’s unwillingness to address her serious mental health issues and demonstrated inability to care for the child establish that termination of parental rights was proper. Even though 43-292.01 was used as the statutory basis for termination instead of 43-292, it is [...]

Filed on July 27, 2010
Nebraska Court of Appeals
Not designated for permanent publication
SUMMARY: Holding the adjudication hearing 8 months after the petition was filed where the child is 17 years of age and the abuser already sentenced for sexual assault is hardly ideal but not grounds for reversal. Evidence establishing that the interpreter at the therapy [...]

By ERIC OLSON OMAHA, Neb. — The Nebraska Supreme Court has ordered the state's Department of Health and Human Services to allow parents of a 12-year-old to relinquish their parental rights and make the child eligible for adoption. The Douglas County Juvenile Court had ruled in November that the agency should accept the parents' decision to terminate their rights, because they said they wanted no contact with their daughter. The girl has been in foster care since she was dropped off at an Omaha hospital in November 2008 under the state's old safe-haven law. That law, since amended, allowed anyone to leave a child of any age at a hospital without fear of prosecution for the abandonment. Once the parents volunteered to give up their rights, the juvenile court decided the best outcome would be for the girl to be adopted. [...]
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Filed on July 23, 2010
280 Neb. 284, ____ N.W.2d ____
SUMMARY: Where a child has been adjudicated pursuant to N.R.S. 43-247(3)(a) and a permanency objective of adoption has been established, a juvenile court has authority under the juvenile code to order DHHS to accept a tendered relinquishment of parental rights.  
Gabriela H., DOB 9/97, was left [...]

Filed on July 23, 2010
280 Neb. 291, ____ N.W.2d ____
SUMMARY: An adjudication and permanency plan must be established before the juvenile court can accept a voluntary relinquishment from the parent.  
Cornelius, DOB 5/93, was adopted by Laura in 2003. Laura moved and left Cornelius with a relative in August 2008, and on August 19, [...]

The number of child abuse and neglect cases nationwide has been decreasing and that's also the case in West Virginia. While victims' advocates say this provides some hope, the problem is still prolific. In West Virginia, child abuse cases were increasing until four years ago. “There is just no way of denying that child abuse is decreasing, which is great and means a lot of things that we have done to try to prevent child abuse and intervene in child abuse has been making a difference and so that is a reason for hope,” said Emily Chittenden, state coordinator for the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network. [...]
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