§ 28-710 — Act, how cited; terms, defined

Nebraska § 28-710

• Jurisdiction: Nebraska
• Ch. 28: Crimes and Punishments

Text

(1) Sections 28-710 to 28-727 shall be known and may be cited as the Child Protection and Family Safety Act.
(2) For purposes of the Child Protection and Family Safety Act:
(a) Alternative response means a comprehensive assessment of (i) child safety, (ii) the risk of future child abuse or neglect, (iii) family strengths and needs, and (iv) the provision of or referral for necessary services and support. Alternative response is an alternative to traditional response and does not include an investigation or a formal determination as to whether child abuse or neglect has occurred, and the subject of the report shall not be entered into the central registry of child protection cases maintained pursuant to section 28-718 ;
(b) Child abuse or neglect means knowingly, intentionally, or negligently causing or permitting a minor child to be:
(i) Placed in a situation that endangers his or her life or physical or mental health;
(ii) Cruelly confined or cruelly punished;
(iii) Deprived of necessary food, clothing, shelter, or care;
(iv) Left unattended in a motor vehicle if such minor child is six years of age or younger;
(v) Placed in a situation to be sexually abused;
(vi) Placed in a situation to be sexually exploited through sex trafficking of a minor as defined in section 28-830 or by allowing, encouraging, or forcing such person to engage in debauchery, public indecency, or obscene or pornographic photography, films, or depictions; or
(vii) Placed in a situation to be a trafficking victim as defined in section 28-830 ;
(c) Child advocacy center means a community-based organization that (i) provides an appropriate site for conducting forensic interviews as defined in section 28-728 and referring victims of child abuse or neglect and appropriate caregivers for such victims to needed evaluation, services, and supports, (ii) assists county attorneys in facilitating case reviews, developing and updating protocols, and arranging training opportunities for the teams established pursuant to sections 28-728 and 28-729 , and (iii) is a member, in good standing, of a state chapter as defined in 34 U.S.C. 20302;
(d) Comprehensive assessment means an analysis of child safety, risk of future child abuse or neglect, and family strengths and needs on a report of child abuse or neglect using an evidence-informed and validated tool. Comprehensive assessment does not include a finding as to whether the child abuse or neglect occurred but does determine the need for services and support, if any, to address the safety of children and the risk of future abuse or neglect;
(e) Department means the Department of Health and Human Services;
(f) Investigation means fact gathering by the department, using an evidence-informed and validated tool, or by law enforcement related to the current safety of a child and the risk of future child abuse or neglect that determines whether child abuse or neglect has occurred and whether child protective services are needed;
(g) Kin caregiver means a person with whom a child in foster care has been placed or with whom a child is residing pursuant to a temporary living arrangement in a non-court-involved case, who has previously lived with or is a trusted adult that has a preexisting, significant relationship with the child or with a sibling of such child placed pursuant to section 43-1311.02 ;
(h) Law enforcement agency means the police department or town marshal in incorporated municipalities, the office of the sheriff in unincorporated areas, and the Nebraska State Patrol;
(i) Member of a military family means an individual who is:
(i) Serving active duty service in the armed forces of the United States, including any reserve component or the National Guard; or
(ii) Is a dependent, as defined in 50 U.S.C. 3911, of a person described in subdivision (2)(i)(i) of this section;
(j) Non-court-involved case means an ongoing case opened by the department following a report of child abuse or neglect in which the department has determined that ongoing services are required to maintain the safety of a child or alleviate the risk of future abuse or neglect and in which the family voluntarily engages in child protective services without a filing in a juvenile court;
(k) Out-of-home child abuse or neglect means child abuse or neglect occurring outside of a child's family home, including in day care homes, foster homes, day care centers, residential child-caring agencies as defined in section 71-1926 , other child care facilities or institutions, and the community. Out-of-home child abuse or neglect also includes cases in which the subject of the report of child abuse or neglect is not a member of the child's household, no longer has access to the child, is unknown, or cannot be identified;
(l) Relative caregiver means a person with whom a child is placed by the department and who is related to the child, or to a sibling of such child pursuant to section 43-1311.02 , by blood, marriage, or adoption or, in the case of an Indian child, is an extended family member as defined in section 43-1503 ;
(m) Report means any communication received by the department or a law enforcement agency pursuant to the Child Protection and Family Safety Act that describes child abuse or neglect and contains sufficient content to identify the child who is the alleged victim of child abuse or neglect;
(n) Review, Evaluate, and Decide Team means an internal team of staff within the department and shall include no fewer than two supervisors or administrators and two staff members knowledgeable on the policies and practices of the department, including, but not limited to, the structured review process. County attorneys, child advocacy centers, or law enforcement agency personnel may attend team reviews upon request of a party;
(o) School employee means a person nineteen years of age or older who is employed by a public, private, denominational, or parochial school approved or accredited by the State Department of Education;
(p) Student means a person less than nineteen years of age enrolled in or attending a public, private, denominational, or parochial school approved or accredited by the State Department of Education, or who was such a person enrolled in or who attended such a school within ninety days of any violation of section 28-316.01 ;
(q) Traditional response means an investigation by a law enforcement agency or the department pursuant to section 28-713 which requires a formal determination of whether child abuse or neglect has occurred; and
(r) Subject of the report of child abuse or neglect or subject of the report means the person or persons identified in the report as responsible for the child abuse or neglect.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1977, LB 38, § 149; Laws 1979, LB 505, § 1; Laws 1982, LB 522, § 3; Laws 1985, LB 447, § 10; Laws 1988, LB 463, § 42; Laws 1992, LB 1184, § 9; Laws 1994, LB 1035, § 2; Laws 1996, LB 1044, § 71; Laws 1997, LB 119, § 1; Laws 2005, LB 116, § 1; Laws 2013, LB265, § 29; Laws 2014, LB853, § 1; Laws 2019, LB519, § 10; Laws 2020, LB881, § 9; Laws 2020, LB1061, § 1; Laws 2025, LB80, § 31. Effective Date: September 3, 2025 Annotations: Under the "evidence of abuse... or child abuse or neglect" provision of section 71-6903(3), the pregnant woman must establish that a parent or guardian, who occupies that role in relation to her at the time she files her petition for waiver of parental consent, has either abused her as defined in section 28-351 or subjected her to child abuse or neglect as defined in this section. In re Petition of Anonymous 5, 286 Neb. 640, 838 N.W.2d 226 (2013).