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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 759
Introduced by Kolterman, 24.
Read first time January 08, 2020
Committee: Health and Human Services
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to children; to amend sections 43-284, 43-905,
2 43-1311, 43-1312, and 43-1312.01, Reissue Revised Statutes of
3 Nebraska, and sections 43-285 and 79-215, Revised Statutes
4 Supplement, 2019; to require consultation with school districts
5 regarding placement of children; to state intent; to harmonize
6 provisions; and to repeal the original sections.
7 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 43-284, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
2 amended to read:
3 43-284 (1) When any juvenile is adjudged to be under subdivision
4 (3), (4), or (8) of section 43-247, the court may permit such juvenile to
5 remain in his or her own home subject to supervision or may make an order
6 committing the juvenile to (a) (1) the care of some suitable institution,
7 (b) (2) inpatient or outpatient treatment at a mental health facility or
8 mental health program, (c) (3) the care of some reputable citizen of good
9 moral character, (d) (4) the care of some association willing to receive
10 the juvenile embracing in its objects the purpose of caring for or
11 obtaining homes for such juveniles, which association shall have been
12 accredited as provided in section 43-296, (e) (5) the care of a suitable
13 family, or (f) (6) the care and custody of the Department of Health and
14 Human Services, except that a juvenile who is adjudicated to be a
15 juvenile described in subdivision (3)(b) or (4) of section 43-247 shall
16 not be committed to the care and custody or supervision of the department
17 on or after October 1, 2013.
18 (2) Prior to making a final determination regarding placement, the
19 court shall consult with any potential receiving school district that the
20 juvenile would be attending as a result of the placement if the receiving
21 school district is not the juvenile's resident school district. The
22 consultation with the receiving school district to discuss services
23 necessary for the juvenile to attend school in the receiving school
24 district shall include a determination as to whether necessary
25 educational programming services are or could be made available from the
26 receiving school district and the identification of the juvenile's
27 resident school district that is responsible for the costs of the
28 educational programming services at the receiving school district. The
29 court shall provide the receiving school district with a portfolio of
30 educational information regarding the juvenile at least two days prior to
31 the consultation. The input of the receiving school district regarding
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1 the best educational placement of the juvenile shall be considered
2 regarding the difficulties in providing or hiring personnel necessary for
3 additional educational programming services, such as specialized
4 personnel or the placement of such juvenile at a specialized facility,
5 which may result in a substantial financial burden for the resident
6 school district and the receiving school district.
7 (3) Under subdivision (1)(a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) (1), (2), (3),
8 (4), or (5) of this section, upon a determination by the court that there
9 are no parental, private, or other public funds available for the care,
10 custody, education, and maintenance of a juvenile, the court may order a
11 reasonable sum for the care, custody, education, and maintenance of the
12 juvenile to be paid out of a fund which shall be appropriated annually by
13 the county where the petition is filed until suitable provisions may be
14 made for the juvenile without such payment.
15 (4) The amount to be paid by a county for education pursuant to this
16 section shall not exceed the average cost for education of a public
17 school student in the county in which the juvenile is placed and shall be
18 paid only for education in kindergarten through grade twelve.
19 (5) The court may enter a dispositional order removing a juvenile
20 from his or her home upon a written determination that continuation in
21 the home would be contrary to the health, safety, or welfare of such
22 juvenile and that reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify the family
23 have been made if required under section 43-283.01.
24 Sec. 2. Section 43-285, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2019, is
25 amended to read:
26 43-285 (1) When the court awards a juvenile to the care of the
27 Department of Health and Human Services, an association, or an individual
28 in accordance with the Nebraska Juvenile Code, the juvenile shall, unless
29 otherwise ordered, become a ward and be subject to the legal custody and
30 care of the department, association, or individual to whose care he or
31 she is committed. Any such association and the department shall have
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1 authority, by and with the assent of the court, to determine the care,
2 placement, medical services, psychiatric services, training, and
3 expenditures on behalf of each juvenile committed to it. Any such
4 association and the department shall be responsible for applying for any
5 health insurance available to the juvenile, including, but not limited
6 to, medical assistance under the Medical Assistance Act. Such custody and
7 care shall not include the guardianship of any estate of the juvenile.
8 (2)(a) Following an adjudication hearing at which a juvenile is
9 adjudged to be under subdivision (3)(a) or (c) of section 43-247, the
10 court may order the department to prepare and file with the court a
11 proposed plan for the care, placement, services, and permanency which are
12 to be provided to such juvenile and his or her family. The health and
13 safety of the juvenile shall be the paramount concern in the proposed
14 plan.
15 (b) The department shall provide opportunities for the child, in an
16 age or developmentally appropriate manner, to be consulted in the
17 development of his or her plan as provided in the Nebraska Strengthening
18 Families Act.
19 (c) The department shall include in the plan for a child who is
20 fourteen years of age or older and subject to the legal care and custody
21 of the department a written independent living transition proposal which
22 meets the requirements of section 43-1311.03 and, for eligible children,
23 the Young Adult Bridge to Independence Act. The juvenile court shall
24 provide a copy of the plan to all interested parties before the hearing.
25 The court may approve the plan, modify the plan, order that an
26 alternative plan be developed, or implement another plan that is in the
27 child's best interests. In its order the court shall include a finding
28 regarding the appropriateness of the programs and services described in
29 the proposal designed to help the child prepare for the transition from
30 foster care to a successful adulthood. The court shall also ask the
31 child, in an age or developmentally appropriate manner, if he or she
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1 participated in the development of his or her plan and make a finding
2 regarding the child’s participation in the development of his or her plan
3 as provided in the Nebraska Strengthening Families Act. Rules of evidence
4 shall not apply at the dispositional hearing when the court considers the
5 plan that has been presented.
6 (d) The last court hearing before jurisdiction pursuant to
7 subdivision (3)(a) of section 43-247 is terminated for a child who is
8 sixteen years of age or older or pursuant to subdivision (8) of section
9 43-247 for a child whose guardianship or state-funded adoption assistance
10 agreement was disrupted or terminated after he or she had attained the
11 age of sixteen years shall be called the independence hearing. In
12 addition to other matters and requirements to be addressed at this
13 hearing, the independence hearing shall address the child's future goals
14 and plans and access to services and support for the transition from
15 foster care to adulthood consistent with section 43-1311.03 and the Young
16 Adult Bridge to Independence Act. The child shall not be required to
17 attend the independence hearing, but efforts shall be made to encourage
18 and enable the child's attendance if the child wishes to attend,
19 including scheduling the hearing at a time that permits the child's
20 attendance. An independence coordinator as provided in section 43-4506
21 shall attend the hearing if reasonably practicable, but the department is
22 not required to have legal counsel present. At the independence hearing,
23 the court shall advise the child about the bridge to independence
24 program, including, if applicable, the right of young adults in the
25 bridge to independence program to request a court-appointed, client-
26 directed attorney under subsection (1) of section 43-4510 and the
27 benefits and role of such attorney and to request additional permanency
28 review hearings in the bridge to independence program under subsection
29 (5) of section 43-4508 and how to request such a hearing. The court shall
30 also advise the child, if applicable, of the rights he or she is giving
31 up if he or she chooses not to participate in the bridge to independence
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1 program and the option to enter such program at any time between nineteen
2 and twenty-one years of age if the child meets the eligibility
3 requirements of section 43-4504. The department shall present information
4 to the court regarding other community resources that may benefit the
5 child, specifically information regarding state programs established
6 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 677. The court shall also make a finding as to
7 whether the child has received the documents as required by subsection
8 (9) of section 43-1311.03.
9 (3)(a) Within thirty days after an order awarding a juvenile to the
10 care of the department, an association, or an individual and until the
11 juvenile reaches the age of majority, the department, association, or
12 individual shall file with the court a report stating the location of the
13 juvenile's placement and the needs of the juvenile in order to effectuate
14 the purposes of subdivision (1) of section 43-246. The department,
15 association, or individual shall file a report with the court once every
16 six months or at shorter intervals if ordered by the court or deemed
17 appropriate by the department, association, or individual. Every six
18 months, the report shall provide an updated statement regarding the
19 eligibility of the juvenile for health insurance, including, but not
20 limited to, medical assistance under the Medical Assistance Act. The
21 department shall also concurrently file a written sibling placement
22 report as described in subsection (3) of section 43-1311.02 at these
23 times.
24 (b) The department, association, or individual shall file a report
25 and notice of placement change with the court and shall send copies of
26 the notice to all interested parties, including all of the child’s
27 siblings that are known to the department, at least seven days before the
28 placement of the juvenile is changed from what the court originally
29 considered to be a suitable family home or institution to some other
30 custodial situation in order to effectuate the purposes of subdivision
31 (1) of section 43-246. The department, association, or individual shall
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1 afford a parent or an adult sibling the option of refusing to receive
2 such notifications. The court, on its own motion or upon the filing of an
3 objection to the change by an interested party, may order a hearing to
4 review such a change in placement and may order that the change be stayed
5 until the completion of the hearing. Nothing in this section shall
6 prevent the court on an ex parte basis from approving an immediate change
7 in placement upon good cause shown. The department may make an immediate
8 change in placement without court approval only if the juvenile is in a
9 harmful or dangerous situation or when the foster parents request that
10 the juvenile be removed from their home. Approval of the court shall be
11 sought within twenty-four hours after making the change in placement or
12 as soon thereafter as possible.
13 (c) The department shall provide the juvenile's guardian ad litem
14 with a copy of any report filed with the court by the department pursuant
15 to this subsection.
16 (4) Prior to making a final plan regarding placement, the department
17 shall consult with the receiving school district that the juvenile would
18 be attending as a result of the placement if the receiving school
19 district is not the juvenile's resident school district. The consultation
20 with the receiving school district to discuss services necessary for the
21 juvenile to attend school in the receiving school district shall include
22 a determination as to whether necessary educational programming services
23 are or could be made available from the receiving school district and the
24 identification of the juvenile's resident school district that is
25 responsible for the costs of the educational programming services at the
26 receiving school district. The department shall provide the receiving
27 school district with a portfolio of educational information regarding the
28 juvenile at least two days prior to the consultation. The input of the
29 receiving school district regarding the best educational placement of the
30 juvenile shall be considered regarding the difficulties in providing or
31 hiring personnel necessary for additional educational programming
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1 services, such as specialized personnel or the placement of such juvenile
2 at a specialized facility, which may result in a substantial financial
3 burden for the resident school district and the receiving school
4 district.
5 (5) (4) The court shall also hold a permanency hearing if required
6 under section 43-1312.
7 (6) (5) When the court awards a juvenile to the care of the
8 department, an association, or an individual, then the department,
9 association, or individual shall have standing as a party to file any
10 pleading or motion, to be heard by the court with regard to such filings,
11 and to be granted any review or relief requested in such filings
12 consistent with the Nebraska Juvenile Code.
13 (7) (6) Whenever a juvenile is in a foster care placement as defined
14 in section 43-1301, the Foster Care Review Office or the designated local
15 foster care review board may participate in proceedings concerning the
16 juvenile as provided in section 43-1313 and notice shall be given as
17 provided in section 43-1314.
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