71-1902 Foster care; license required; training required; license renewal; fees; license revocation; procedure.
71-1902. Foster care; license required; training required; license renewal; fees; license revocation; procedure.Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person shall furnish or offer to furnish foster care for two or more children from different families without having in full force and effect a written license issued by the department upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by general rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the department. The department may issue a time-limited, nonrenewable provisional license to an applicant who is unable to comply with all licensure requirements and standards, is making a good faith effort to comply, and is capable of compliance within the time period stated in the license. The department may issue a time-limited, nonrenewable probationary license to a licensee who agrees to establish compliance with rules and regulations that, when violated, do not present an unreasonable risk to the health, safety, or well-being of the foster children in the care of the applicant. No license shall be issued pursuant to this section unless the applicant has completed the required hours of training in foster care as prescribed by the department.All nonprovisional and nonprobationary licenses issued under sections 71-1901 to 71-1906.01 shall expire two years from the date of issuance and shall be subject to renewal under the same terms and conditions as the original license, except that if a licensee submits a completed renewal application thirty days or more before the license's expiration date, the license shall remain in effect until the department either renews the license or denies the renewal application. No license issued pursuant to this section shall be renewed unless the licensee has completed the required hours of training in foster care in the preceding twelve months as prescribed by the department. For the issuance or renewal of each nonprovisional and nonprobationary license, the department shall charge a fee of fifty dollars for a group home, fifty dollars for a child-caring agency, and fifty dollars for a child-placing agency. For the issuance of each provisional license and each probationary license, the department shall charge a fee of twenty-five dollars for a group home, twenty-five dollars for a child-caring agency, and twenty-five dollars for a child-placing agency. A license may be revoked for cause, after notice and hearing, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the department.For purposes of this section:(1) Foster family home means any home which provides twenty-four-hour care to children who are not related to the foster parent by blood or adoption;(2) Group home means a home which is operated under the auspices of an organization which is responsible for providing social services, administration, direction, and control for the home and which is designed to provide twenty-four-hour care for children and youth in a residential setting;(3) Child-caring agency means an organization which is incorporated for the purpose of providing care for children in buildings maintained by the organization for that purpose; and(4) Child-placing agency means an organization which is authorized by its articles of incorporation and by its license to place children in foster family homes. SourceLaws 1943, c. 154, § 2, p. 564; R.S.1943, § 71-1902; Laws 1945, c. 171, § 2, p. 549; Laws 1949, c. 207, § 1, p. 595; Laws 1961, c. 415, § 26, p. 1258; Laws 1982, LB 928, § 52; Laws 1984, LB 130, § 14; Laws 1987, LB 386, § 2; Laws 1988, LB 930, § 1; Laws 1990, LB 1222, § 12; Laws 1995, LB 401, § 25; Laws 1995, LB 402, § 1; Laws 1995, LB 451, § 2; Laws 2001, LB 209, § 20; Laws 2002, LB 93, § 8.