This bill amends section 43-2404.02 of the Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, to enhance the Community-based Juvenile Services Aid Program by providing for the distribution of state aid to community-based organizations. A significant change includes the establishment of a common data set for evaluating the effectiveness of the program, with ten percent of the annual General Fund appropriation allocated for this purpose. The bill also introduces a new provision that allows for ten percent of the annual appropriation to be set aside for grants specifically aimed at community-based organizations located in qualified census tracts, which have an annual budget of no more than one million dollars and focus on preventing juvenile crime before involvement with the criminal justice system.

Additionally, the bill outlines the criteria for fund distribution, emphasizing the importance of programs that divert juveniles from the justice system and reduce detention populations. It mandates that aid recipients prioritize evidence-based practices and includes provisions for reporting and evaluation of funded programs. The University of Nebraska at Omaha, Juvenile Justice Institute, is designated to assist in developing evaluation measurements and logic models for assessing program impact. The original section 43-2404.02 is repealed, consolidating the changes into the updated legal framework for the Community-based Juvenile Services Aid Program.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 43-2404.02