§ 50-1806. Office; duties; reports of death, serious injury, or allegations of sexual abuse; when required; reports of occurrences at youth rehabilitation and treatment center; state agencies, law enforcement agencies, and prosecuting attorneys; cooperation; confidentiality; witness; counsel; powers of office.

(1) The office shall investigate: (a) Allegations or incidents of possible misconduct, misfeasance, malfeasance, or violations of statutes or of rules or regulations of: (i) The department by an employee of or person under contract with the department, a private agency, a licensed child care facility, a foster parent, or any other provider of child welfare services or which may provide a basis for discipline pursuant to the Uniform Credentialing Act; (ii) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, the juvenile services division by an employee of or person under contract with the juvenile services division, a private agency, a licensed facility, a foster parent, or any other provider of juvenile justice services; (iii) The commission by an employee of or person under contract with the commission related to programs and services supported by the Nebraska County Juvenile Services Plan Act, the Community-based Juvenile Services Aid Program, juvenile pretrial diversion programs, or inspections of juvenile facilities; and (iv) A juvenile detention facility and staff secure juvenile facility by an employee of or person under contract with such facilities; (b) Death or serious injury in foster homes, private agencies, child care facilities, juvenile detention facilities, staff secure juvenile facilities, and other programs and facilities licensed by or under contract with the department or the juvenile services division when the office, upon review, determines the death or serious injury did not occur by chance; (c) Death or serious injury in any case in which services are provided by the department or the juvenile services division to a child or the child's parents when the office upon review determines that the death or serious injury did not occur by chance; (d) Death or serious injury in any case involving an investigation under the Child Protection and Family Safety Act if the investigation took place within the twelve months prior to the death or serious injury and if the office upon review determines the death or serious injury did not occur by chance; and (e) Any other matter as provided in the annual work plans or key performance indicators approved by the Legislative Oversight Committee pursuant to section 50-1702. (2) The department, the juvenile services division, each juvenile detention facility, and each staff secure juvenile facility shall report to the office as soon as reasonably possible: (a) All cases of death or serious injury: (i) Of a child in a foster home, private agency, child care facility or program, or other program or facility licensed by the department or inspected through the commission; (ii) In any case in which services are provided to a child or the child's parents; and (iii) Involving an investigation under the Child Protection and Family Safety Act if the investigation took place within the twelve months prior to the death or serious injury and upon review determines the death or serious injury did not occur by chance; and (b) All allegations of sexual abuse of a state ward, a juvenile on probation, a juvenile in a detention facility, and a juvenile in a residential child-caring agency. (3)(a) The Office of Juvenile Services shall report to the office of Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare as soon as reasonably possible after any of the following instances occur at a youth rehabilitation and treatment center: (i) An assault; (ii) An escape or elopement; (iii) An attempted suicide; (iv) Self-harm by a juvenile; (v) Property damage not caused by normal wear and tear; (vi) The use of mechanical restraints on a juvenile; (vii) A significant medical event suffered by a juvenile; and (viii) Internally substantiated violations of 34 U.S.C. 30301 et seq. (b) The Office of Juvenile Services and the office of Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare shall, if requested by either party, work in collaboration to clarify the specific parameters to comply with subdivision (3)(a) of this section. (4) The department shall notify the office of Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare of any leadership changes within the Office of Juvenile Services and the youth rehabilitation and treatment centers. (5) With respect to any investigation conducted by the Inspector General pursuant to subdivision (1)(a) of this section that involves possible misconduct by an employee of the juvenile services division, the Inspector General shall immediately notify the probation administrator and provide the information pertaining to potential personnel matters to the Office of Probation Administration. (6) Any investigation conducted by the Inspector General shall be independent of and separate from an investigation pursuant to the Child Protection and Family Safety Act. The Inspector General and his or her staff are subject to the reporting requirements of the Child Protection and Family Safety Act. (7) The department shall notify the Inspector General as soon as practicable when a criminal investigation involving a death or serious injury required to be reported to the office under subdivision (2)(a) of this section has commenced and when such criminal investigation has concluded. (8) Notwithstanding the fact that a criminal investigation, a criminal prosecution, or both are in progress, all law enforcement agencies and prosecuting attorneys may cooperate with any investigation conducted by the Inspector General and may, upon request by the Inspector General, provide the Inspector General with copies of all law enforcement reports which are relevant to the Inspector General's investigation. All law enforcement reports which have been provided to the Inspector General pursuant to this section are not public records for purposes of sections 84-712 to 84-712.09 and shall not be subject to discovery by any other person or entity. Except to the extent that disclosure of information is otherwise provided for in the Office of Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare Act, the Inspector General shall maintain the confidentiality of all law enforcement reports received pursuant to its request under this section. Law enforcement agencies and prosecuting attorneys may, when requested by the Inspector General, collaborate with the Inspector General regarding all other information relevant to the Inspector General's investigation. The Inspector General shall, when requested to do so by a law enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney, suspend an investigation by the office until a criminal investigation or prosecution is completed or has proceeded to a point that, in the judgment of the Inspector General, reinstatement of the Inspector General's investigation will not impede or infringe upon the criminal investigation or prosecution. Under no circumstance shall the Inspector General interview any minor who has already been interviewed by a law enforcement agency, personnel of the Division of Children and Family Services of the department, or staff of a child advocacy center in connection with a relevant ongoing investigation of a law enforcement agency. (9) Consistent with the Nebraska Rules of Professional Conduct, counsel for the entity under investigation shall not represent a witness. A witness may request that counsel for the entity under investigation be present while being questioned, but such entity shall not require a witness to make such a request. If such a request is made, the entity under investigation shall inform the witness that such entity's counsel does not represent the witness. For purposes of this subsection, entity under investigation means the entity that is the subject of an investigation under the Office of Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare Act and includes the department, the juvenile services division, the commission, a private agency, a licensed child care facility, a juvenile detention facility, a staff secure juvenile facility, or another provider of child welfare services or juvenile justice services. (10) The office may conduct audits, inspections, investigations, and other oversight as necessary to perform the duties of the office and to carry out the purposes of the Office of Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare Act. (11) For purposes of this section, serious injury means an injury or illness caused by suspected abuse, neglect, maltreatment, self-harm, or assault which requires urgent medical treatment. History: Laws 2012, LB821, § 25; Laws 2013, LB561, § 58; Laws 2014, LB853, § 28; Laws 2015, LB347, § 13; Laws 2016, LB954, § 3; Laws 2017, LB207, § 2; Laws 2018, LB1078, § 4; Laws 2020, LB1144, § 1; R.S.Supp.,2024, § 43-4318; Laws 2025, LB298, § 29.