43-1303 State board; meetings; registry; reports required; rules and regulations; visitation of facilities.
43-1303. State board; meetings; registry; reports required; rules and regulations; visitation of facilities.(1) The state board shall meet at least twice per year. The state board shall establish a statewide register of all foster care placements occurring within the state, and there shall be a monthly report made to the state board registry of all foster care placements by the Department of Health and Human Services, any child-placing agency, or any court in a form as developed by the state board in consultation with representatives of entities required to make such reports. For each child entering and leaving foster care, such monthly report shall consist of identifying information, placement information, and the plan or permanency plan developed by the person or court in charge of the child pursuant to section 43-1312. The department and every court and child-placing agency shall report any foster care placement within three working days. The report shall contain the following information:(a) Child identification information, including name, social security number, date of birth, gender, race, and religion;(b) Identification information for parents and stepparents, including name, social security number, address, and status of parental rights;(c) Placement information, including initial placement date, current placement date, and the name and address of the foster care provider;(d) Court status information, including which court has jurisdiction, initial custody date, court hearing date, and results of the court hearing;(e) Agency or other entity having custody of the child;(f) Case worker; and(g) Permanency Plan Objective.(2) The state board shall review the activities of local boards and may adopt and promulgate its own rules and regulations. Such rules and regulations shall provide for the following:(a) Establishment of training programs for local board members which shall include an initial training program and periodic inservice training programs;(b) Development of procedures for local boards;(c) Establishment of a central record-keeping facility for all local board files, including individual case reviews;(d) Accumulation of data and the making of annual reports on children in foster care. Such reports shall include (i) personal data on length of time in foster care, (ii) number of placements, (iii) frequency and results of court review, and (iv) number of children supervised by the foster care programs in the state annually;(e) To the extent not prohibited by section 43-1310, evaluation of the judicial and administrative data collected on foster care and the dissemination of such data to the judiciary, public and private agencies, the department, and members of the public; and(f) Manner in which the state board shall determine the appropriateness of requesting a review hearing as provided for in section 43-1313.(3) The state board, upon completion of a review of local board activities, shall report and make recommendations to the department and county welfare offices. Such reports and recommendations shall include, but not be limited to, the annual judicial and administrative data collected on foster care pursuant to subsection (2) of this section and the annual evaluation of such data. In addition the state board shall provide copies of such reports and recommendations to each court having the authority to make foster care placements. The state board may visit and observe foster care facilities in order to ascertain whether the individual physical, psychological, and sociological needs of each foster child are being met. SourceLaws 1982, LB 714, § 3; Laws 1990, LB 1222, § 6; Laws 1996, LB 1044, § 195; Laws 1998, LB 1041, § 36; Laws 1999, LB 240, § 1. AnnotationsThe Foster Care Review Act permits but does not require the State Foster Care Review Board to promulgate regulations. OMNI v. Nebraska Foster Care Review Bd., 277 Neb. 641, 764 N.W.2d 398 (2009).