LB927 LB927
2024 2024
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 927
Introduced by Fredrickson, 20; Conrad, 46.
Read first time January 04, 2024
Committee: Health and Human Services
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to child welfare; to amend section 71-1924,
2 Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2022; to require suicide
3 awareness and prevention training for employees of child-placing
4 agencies and child welfare workers; and to repeal the original
5 section.
6 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 71-1924, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2 2022, is amended to read:
3 71-1924 Sections 71-1924 to 71-1951 and section 2 of this act shall
4 be known and may be cited as the Children's Residential Facilities and
5 Placing Licensure Act.
6 Sec. 2. The department shall establish standardized suicide
7 awareness training requirements as described in section 4 of this act for
8 all employees of child-placing agencies prior to any independent contact
9 with youth and families to increase suicide prevention in the foster care
10 system. Such training shall incorporate a baseline curriculum using the
11 training materials described in section 4 of this act while also allowing
12 child-placing agencies to incorporate training elements that meet the
13 specific needs of an individual agency.
14 Sec. 3. All child welfare caseworkers, and any other appropriate
15 personnel as determined by the Division of Children and Family Services
16 of the Department of Health and Human Services, shall obtain at least
17 ninety minutes of behavioral and mental health training with a focus on
18 suicide awareness and prevention prior to any independent contact with
19 youth and families and annually thereafter. All suicide awareness and
20 prevention training shall incorporate evidence-based practices and may
21 include, but not be limited to, (1) identification of early warning signs
22 and symptoms of behavioral and mental health issues for youth in the
23 child welfare system and (2) appropriate and effective responses for
24 behavioral and mental health issues and trauma-informed care. This
25 training shall be provided within the framework of existing training
26 programs offered by the department.
27 Sec. 4. The department, in consultation with organizations and
28 professionals with expertise in behavioral and mental health and suicide
29 prevention including, but not limited to, the Nebraska State Suicide
30 Prevention Coalition, the Nebraska chapter of the American Foundation for
31 Suicide Prevention, the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska,
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1 and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Nebraska, shall develop a
2 list of approved training materials to fulfill the requirements of
3 section 3 of this act.
4 Sec. 5. Original section 71-1924, Revised Statutes Cumulative
5 Supplement, 2022, is repealed.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 71-1924