§ 43-4406 — Child welfare services; report; contents

On or before each September 15, the department shall report electronically to the Health and Human Services Committee of the Legislature the following information regarding child welfare services, with respect to children served by the department:
(1) The percentage of children served and the allocation of the child welfare budget, categorized by service area, including:
(a) The percentage of children served, by service area and the corresponding budget allocation; and
(b) The percentage of children served who are wards of the state and the corresponding budget allocation;
(2) The number of siblings in out-of-home care placed with siblings as of the June 30 immediately preceding the date of the report, categorized by service area;
(3) The number of waivers granted under subsection (2) of section 71-1904 ;
(4) The following information as obtained for each service area:
(a) Case manager education, including college degree, major, and level of education beyond a baccalaureate degree;
(b) Average caseload per case manager;
(c) Average number of case managers per child during the preceding twelve months;
(d) Average number of case managers per child for children who have been in the child welfare system for three months, for six months, for twelve months, and for eighteen months and the consecutive yearly average for children until the age of majority or permanency is attained;
(e) Monthly case manager turnover;
(f) Monthly face-to-face contacts between each case manager and the children on his or her caseload;
(g) Monthly face-to-face contacts between each case manager and the parent or parents of the children on his or her caseload;
(h) Case documentation of monthly consecutive team meetings per quarter;
(i) Case documentation of monthly consecutive parent contacts per quarter;
(j) Case documentation of monthly consecutive child contacts with case manager per quarter;
(k) Case documentation of monthly consecutive contacts between child welfare service providers and case managers per quarter;
(l) Timeliness of court reports; and
(m) Non-court-involved children, including the number of children served, the types of services requested, the specific services provided, the cost of the services provided, and the funding source;
(5) All placements in residential treatment settings made or paid for by the child welfare system, the Office of Juvenile Services, the State Department of Education or local education agencies, and the medical assistance program, including, but not limited to:
(a) Child variables;
(b) Reasons for placement;
(c) The percentage of children denied medicaid-reimbursed services and denied the level of placement requested;
(d) With respect to each child in a residential treatment setting:
(i) If there was a denial of initial placement request, the length and level of each placement subsequent to denial of initial placement request and the status of each child before and immediately after, six months after, and twelve months after placement;
(ii) Funds expended and length of placements;
(iii) Number and level of placements;
(iv) Facility variables; and
(v) Identification of specific child welfare services unavailable in the child's community that, if available, could have prevented the need for residential treatment; and
(e) Identification of child welfare services unavailable in the state that, if available, could prevent out-of-state placements;
(6) For any individual involved in the child welfare system receiving a service or a placement through the department or its agent for which referral is necessary, the date when such referral was made by the department or its agent and the date and the method by which the individual receiving the services was notified of such referral. To the extent the department becomes aware of the date when the individual receiving the referral began receiving such services, the department or its agent shall document such date;
(7) The number of sexual abuse allegations that occurred for children being served by the Division of Children and Family Services of the Department of Health and Human Services and placed at a residential child-caring agency and the number of corresponding (a) screening decision occurrences by category, (b) open investigations by category, and (c) agency substantiations, court substantiations, and court-pending status cases; and
(8) Information on children who are reported or suspected victims of sex trafficking of a minor or labor trafficking of a minor, as defined in section 28-830 , including:
(a) The number of reports to the statewide toll-free number pursuant to section 28-711 alleging sex trafficking of a minor or labor trafficking of a minor and the number of children alleged to be victims;
(b) The number of substantiated victims of sex trafficking of a minor or labor trafficking of a minor, including demographic information and information on whether the children were already served by the department;
(c) The number of children determined to be reported or suspected victims of sex trafficking of a minor or labor trafficking of a minor, including demographic information and information on whether the children were previously served by the department;
(d) The types and costs of services provided to children who are reported or suspected victims of sex trafficking of a minor or labor trafficking of a minor; and
(e) The number of ongoing cases opened due to allegations of sex trafficking of a minor or labor trafficking of a minor and number of children and families served through these cases.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 2012, LB1160, § 6; Laws 2013, LB222, § 13; Laws 2017, LB417, § 6; Laws 2018, LB1078, § 5; Laws 2019, LB519, § 15; Laws 2022, LB1173, § 14; Laws 2025, LB346, § 27. Operative Date: September 3, 2025