LB368 LB368
2023 2023
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 368
Introduced by Conrad, 46.
Read first time January 12, 2023
Committee: Judiciary
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to criminal justice; to create a grant program
2 to expand and enhance county criminal justice efforts relating to
3 treatment, rehabilitation, and diversion; to provide duties for the
4 Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice; to
5 define terms; and to state intent regarding appropriations.
6 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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2023 2023
1 Section 1. (1) The County Criminal Justice Enhancement Grant
2 Program is created. The purpose of the program is to make a grant
3 available to a county to improve and expand correctional services as
4 provided in this section. The program shall be administered by the
5 commission.
6 (2) An eligible county may apply for a grant by submitting an
7 application to the commission in a form and manner prescribed by the
8 commission.
9 (3) The commission shall develop eligibility criteria for grants
10 under this section. At a minimum, the eligibility criteria shall require
11 an eligible county to document how the grant will be used to fulfill the
12 purposes and requirements set forth in subsections (4) and (5) of this
13 section.
14 (4) A grant awarded under the County Criminal Justice Enhancement
15 Grant Program shall be used to:
16 (a) Design, expand, or implement substance use and cognitive
17 behavioral programming in county jail facilities;
18 (b) Hire full-time case managers to expand the use of systematic
19 treatment strategies that seek to reduce recidivism among adult criminal
20 offenders by increasing moral reasoning and to make such treatment
21 available in the evenings and weekends;
22 (c) Hire a full-time peer support recovery specialist to provide
23 social support services to jail inmates and to assist in reentry case
24 management;
25 (d) Provide residential housing with twenty-four-hour support,
26 crisis stabilization, and continued individualized recovery and support
27 for reentering inmates with mental health needs;
28 (e) Enhance the county's diversion program by adding pre-program
29 support services, including intermittent respite housing to support
30 individuals accepted into a diversion program who are waiting for a
31 substance use evaluation or inpatient treatment;
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1 (f) Expand diversion options for young adults charged with offenses
2 that are currently ineligible for diversion and hire two full-time case
3 managers to accommodate intensive supervision of such young adults; and
4 (g) Provide staff training and hire other employees as necessary to
5 carry out the purposes of this subsection and subsection (5) of this
6 section.
7 (5) An eligible county that receives a grant shall partner with:
8 (a) A community partner to incorporate culturally informed substance
9 use treatment programs for young people; and
10 (b) An accredited postsecondary educational institution with a
11 program in criminal justice research to establish data metrics and
12 program enhancement and expansion outcomes.
13 (6) The commission may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to
14 carry out this section.
15 (7) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate two million
16 one hundred thousand dollars from the General Fund for fiscal year
17 2023-24 to carry out this section.
18 (8) For purposes of this section:
19 (a) Commission means the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and
20 Criminal Justice; and
21 (b) Eligible county means a county containing a city of the primary
22 class.
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