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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 215
Introduced by Briese, 41.
Read first time January 10, 2023
Committee: Executive Board
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to the Legislature; to amend sections 28-711,
2 43-4302, 43-4303, 43-4317, 43-4320, 43-4321, 43-4322, 43-4324,
3 43-4326, 43-4329, 43-4330, 47-901, 47-902, 47-903, 47-904, 47-905,
4 47-907, 47-908, 47-909, 47-910, 47-911, 47-912, 47-913, 47-914,
5 47-915, 47-918, 47-919, 47-920, and 83-178, Reissue Revised Statutes
6 of Nebraska, and sections 28-712.01, 43-2,108, 43-4301, 43-4318,
7 43-4323, 43-4325, 43-4327, 43-4328, 43-4331, 43-4332, and 81-8,244,
8 Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2022; to provide, move,
9 change, and eliminate definitions; to provide, move, change, and
10 eliminate duties of the office of the Inspector General of Nebraska
11 Child Welfare and the office of Inspector General of the Nebraska
12 Correctional System as prescribed; to harmonize provisions; to
13 repeal the original sections; and to outright repeal sections
14 43-4304, 43-4304.01, 43-4304.02, 43-4305, 43-4306, 43-4306.01,
15 43-4307, 43-4307.01, 43-4308, 43-4309, 43-4310, 43-4311, 43-4312,
16 43-4313, 43-4314, 43-4315, 43-4316, 43-4319, and 47-906, Reissue
17 Revised Statutes of Nebraska.
18 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 28-711, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
2 amended to read:
3 28-711 (1) When any physician, any medical institution, any nurse,
4 any school employee, any social worker, the Inspector General appointed
5 under section 7 of this act 43-4317, or any other person has reasonable
6 cause to believe that a child has been subjected to child abuse or
7 neglect or observes such child being subjected to conditions or
8 circumstances which reasonably would result in child abuse or neglect, he
9 or she shall report such incident or cause a report of child abuse or
10 neglect to be made to the proper law enforcement agency or to the
11 department on the toll-free number established by subsection (2) of this
12 section. Such report may be made orally by telephone with the caller
13 giving his or her name and address, shall be followed by a written
14 report, and to the extent available shall contain the address and age of
15 the abused or neglected child, the address of the person or persons
16 having custody of the abused or neglected child, the nature and extent of
17 the child abuse or neglect or the conditions and circumstances which
18 would reasonably result in such child abuse or neglect, any evidence of
19 previous child abuse or neglect including the nature and extent, and any
20 other information which in the opinion of the person may be helpful in
21 establishing the cause of such child abuse or neglect and the identity of
22 the perpetrator or perpetrators. Law enforcement agencies receiving any
23 reports of child abuse or neglect under this subsection shall notify the
24 department pursuant to section 28-718 on the next working day by
25 telephone or mail.
26 (2) The department shall establish a statewide toll-free number to
27 be used by any person any hour of the day or night, any day of the week,
28 to make reports of child abuse or neglect. Reports of child abuse or
29 neglect not previously made to or by a law enforcement agency shall be
30 made immediately to such agency by the department.
31 Sec. 2. Section 28-712.01, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
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1 2022, is amended to read:
2 28-712.01 (1)(a) The department may assign a report for alternative
3 response consistent with the Child Protection and Family Safety Act.
4 (b) No report involving any of the following shall be assigned to
5 alternative response but shall be immediately forwarded to law
6 enforcement or the county attorney:
7 (i) Murder in the first or second degree as defined in section
8 28-303 or 28-304 or manslaughter as defined in section 28-305;
9 (ii) Assault in the first, second, or third degree or assault by
10 strangulation or suffocation as defined in section 28-308, 28-309,
11 28-310, or 28-310.01;
12 (iii) Sexual abuse, including acts prohibited by section 28-319,
13 28-319.01, 28-320, 28-320.01, 28-320.02, 28-322.01, 28-322.02, 28-322.03,
14 28-322.04, 28-322.05, 28-703, or 28-707;
15 (iv) Labor trafficking of a minor or sex trafficking of a minor as
16 defined in section 28-830;
17 (v) Neglect of a minor child that results in serious bodily injury
18 as defined in section 28-109, requires hospitalization of the child, or
19 results in an injury to the child that requires ongoing medical care,
20 behavioral health care, or physical or occupational therapy, including a
21 growth delay, which may be referred to as failure to thrive, that has
22 been diagnosed by a physician and is due to parental neglect;
23 (vi) Physical abuse to the head or torso of a child or physical
24 abuse that results in bodily injury;
25 (vii) An allegation that requires a forensic interview at a child
26 advocacy center or coordination with the child abuse and neglect
27 investigation team pursuant to section 28-728;
28 (viii) Out-of-home child abuse or neglect;
29 (ix) An allegation being investigated by a law enforcement agency at
30 the time of the assignment;
31 (x) A history of termination of parental rights;
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1 (xi) Absence of a caretaker without having given an alternate
2 caregiver authority to make decisions and grant consents for necessary
3 care, treatment, and education of a child or without having made
4 provision to be contacted to make such decisions or grant such consents;
5 (xii) Domestic violence involving a caretaker in situations in which
6 the alleged perpetrator has access to the child or caretaker;
7 (xiii) A household member illegally manufactures methamphetamine or
8 opioids;
9 (xiv) A child has had contact with methamphetamine or other
10 nonprescribed opioids, including a positive drug screening or test; or
11 (xv) For a report involving an infant, a household member tests
12 positive for methamphetamine or nonprescribed opioids at the birth of
13 such infant.
14 (c) The department may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to
15 (i) provide additional ineligibility criteria for assignment to
16 alternative response and (ii) establish additional criteria requiring
17 review by the Review, Evaluate, and Decide Team.
18 (d) A report that includes any of the following may be eligible for
19 alternative response but shall first be reviewed by the Review, Evaluate,
20 and Decide Team prior to assignment to alternative response:
21 (i) Domestic assault as defined in section 28-323 or domestic
22 violence in the family home;
23 (ii) Use of alcohol or controlled substances as defined in section
24 28-401 or 28-405 by a caregiver that impairs the caregiver's ability to
25 care and provide safety for the child; or
26 (iii) A family member residing in the home or a caregiver that has
27 been the subject of a report accepted for traditional response or
28 assigned to alternative response in the past six months.
29 (2) The Review, Evaluate, and Decide Team shall convene to review
30 reports pursuant to the department's rules, regulations, and policies, to
31 evaluate the information, and to determine assignment for alternative
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1 response or traditional response. The team shall utilize consistent
2 criteria to review the severity of the allegation of child abuse or
3 neglect, access to the perpetrator, vulnerability of the child, family
4 history including previous reports, parental cooperation, parental or
5 caretaker protective factors, and other information as deemed necessary.
6 At the conclusion of the review, the report shall be assigned to either
7 traditional response or alternative response. Decisions of the team shall
8 be made by consensus. If the team cannot come to consensus, the report
9 shall be assigned for a traditional response.
10 (3) In the case of an alternative response, the department shall
11 complete a comprehensive assessment. The department shall transfer the
12 case being given alternative response to traditional response if the
13 department determines that a child is unsafe or if the concern for the
14 safety of the child is due to a temporary living arrangement. Upon
15 completion of the comprehensive assessment, if it is determined that the
16 child is safe, participation in services offered to the family receiving
17 an alternative response is voluntary, the case shall not be transferred
18 to traditional response based upon the family's failure to enroll or
19 participate in such services, and the subject of the report shall not be
20 entered into the central registry of child protection cases maintained
21 pursuant to section 28-718.
22 (4) The department shall, by the next working day after receipt of a
23 report of child abuse or neglect, enter into the tracking system of child
24 protection cases maintained pursuant to section 28-715 all reports of
25 child abuse or neglect received under this section that are opened for
26 alternative response and any action taken.
27 (5) The department shall make available to the appropriate
28 investigating law enforcement agency, child advocacy center, and county
29 attorney a copy of all reports relative to a case of suspected child
30 abuse or neglect. Aggregate, nonidentifying data regarding reports of
31 child abuse or neglect receiving an alternative response shall be made
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1 available quarterly to requesting agencies outside the department. Such
2 alternative response data shall include, but not be limited to, the
3 nature of the initial child abuse or neglect report, the age of the child
4 or children, the nature of services offered, the location of the cases,
5 the number of cases per month, and the number of alternative response
6 cases that were transferred to traditional response. Other than the
7 office of Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare, the Public
8 Counsel, law enforcement agency personnel, child advocacy center
9 employees, and county attorneys, no other agency or individual shall be
10 provided specific, identifying reports of child abuse or neglect being
11 given alternative response. The office of Inspector General of Nebraska
12 Child Welfare shall have access to all reports relative to cases of
13 suspected child abuse or neglect subject to traditional response and
14 those subject to alternative response. The department and the office
15 shall develop procedures allowing for the Inspector General's review of
16 cases subject to alternative response. The Inspector General shall
17 include in the report pursuant to section 20 of this act 43-4331 a
18 summary of all cases reviewed pursuant to this subsection.
19 Sec. 3. Section 43-2,108, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
20 2022, is amended to read:
21 43-2,108 (1) The juvenile court judge shall keep a record of all
22 proceedings of the court in each case, including appearances, findings,
23 orders, decrees, and judgments, and any evidence which he or she feels it
24 is necessary and proper to record. The case file shall contain the
25 complaint or petition and subsequent pleadings. The case file may be
26 maintained as an electronic document through the court's electronic case
27 management system, on microfilm, or in a paper volume and disposed of
28 when determined by the State Records Administrator pursuant to the
29 Records Management Act.
30 (2) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section,
31 the medical, psychological, psychiatric, and social welfare reports and
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1 the records of juvenile probation officers as they relate to individual
2 proceedings in the juvenile court shall not be open to inspection,
3 without order of the court. Such records shall be made available to a
4 district court of this state or the District Court of the United States
5 on the order of a judge thereof for the confidential use of such judge or
6 his or her probation officer as to matters pending before such court but
7 shall not be made available to parties or their counsel; and such
8 district court records shall be made available to a county court or
9 separate juvenile court upon request of the county judge or separate
10 juvenile judge for the confidential use of such judge and his or her
11 probation officer as to matters pending before such court, but shall not
12 be made available by such judge to the parties or their counsel.
13 (3) As used in this section, confidential record information means
14 all docket records, other than the pleadings, orders, decrees, and
15 judgments; case files and records; reports and records of probation
16 officers; and information supplied to the court of jurisdiction in such
17 cases by any individual or any public or private institution, agency,
18 facility, or clinic, which is compiled by, produced by, and in the
19 possession of any court. In all cases under subdivision (3)(a) of section
20 43-247, access to all confidential record information in such cases shall
21 be granted only as follows: (a) The court of jurisdiction may, subject to
22 applicable federal and state regulations, disseminate such confidential
23 record information to any individual, or public or private agency,
24 institution, facility, or clinic which is providing services directly to
25 the juvenile and such juvenile's parents or guardian and his or her
26 immediate family who are the subject of such record information; (b) the
27 court of jurisdiction may disseminate such confidential record
28 information, with the consent of persons who are subjects of such
29 information, or by order of such court after showing of good cause, to
30 any law enforcement agency upon such agency's specific request for such
31 agency's exclusive use in the investigation of any protective service
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1 case or investigation of allegations under subdivision (3)(a) of section
2 43-247, regarding the juvenile or such juvenile's immediate family, who
3 are the subject of such investigation; and (c) the court of jurisdiction
4 may disseminate such confidential record information to any court, which
5 has jurisdiction of the juvenile who is the subject of such information
6 upon such court's request.
7 (4) The court shall provide copies of predispositional reports and
8 evaluations of the juvenile to the juvenile's attorney and the county
9 attorney or city attorney prior to any hearing in which the report or
10 evaluation will be relied upon.
11 (5) In all cases under sections 43-246.01 and 43-247, the office of