Delinquency Services Summary
Combination State: With the exception of secure detention, the state operates most delinquency services in Nebraska. However, responsibility is divided between the judicial and executive branches. County commissions or boards operate secure detention centers. The Office of Probation Administration, within the State Court Administrator's Office, administers probation services through 15 probation districts, 3 of which serve counties with separate juvenile courts. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services administers the state's institutions for delinquent offenders and aftercare services through the Office of Juvenile Services, which is located within the Office of Protection and Safety.

Court(s) with Delinquency Jurisdiction
In much of the state, County Courts exercise jurisdiction over delinquency proceedings. However, in Douglas, Lancaster, and Sarpy counties, separate Juvenile Courts exercise jurisdiction in delinquency proceedings. County Courts and Juvenile Courts are limited jurisdiction trial courts. The state pays 90% of the costs of the County Juvenile Courts (all personnel costs for judges, clerks, and their staff). For more information, visit the Nebraska Judicial Branch's web site.

Highlights

Juvenile Data Integration Project
The Nebraska Crime Commission’s Juvenile Information Sharing project completed a strategic plan and has begun to implement projects. The state is working to establish overall governance for the project.

Graduated Sanctions Demonstration Site
The Douglas County (Omaha) Separate Juvenile Court is participating in a national graduated sanctions project that the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention awarded to the Juvenile Sanctions Division of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. In addition to providing cross-site technical assistance and training on cultural competency, the site has focused on immediate sanctioning at the front end of the juvenile justice system. The court published a handbook on youth rights and responsibilities and has enhanced its tracking system to allow higher risk youth to be safely released from detention pending trial. For more information, contact Judge Wadie Thomas, Jr., Juvenile Court Judge, at (402) 444-7889 or wthomas@co.douglas.ne.us.

Detention
County commissions or boards operate Nebraska's four detention centers and some of Nebraska's eight staff-secure facilities. Private nonprofit organizations operate the remaining facilities. Three Assessment Centers are now in operation in the communities with separate juvenile courts. One assessment center is on the detention center campus, one on the staff secure campus and the other is its own facility. Alternatives to detention include electronic monitoring, trackers, mediation, and drug and alcohol testing.

Probation Intake Officers perform an intake screen to determine the most appropriate option for the juvenile, including detention. Then, they assess the juvenile using a standardized juvenile detention screening instrument to determine if detention is necessary. Detention is used to hold youth preadjudication, predisposition, and awaiting placement and sometimes as a sanction for probation violations. However, detention is never used as a disposition. Detention hearings must be held within 24 hours. A petition must be filed within 48 hours. Detention standards are outlined in Nebraska Minimum Jail Standards for Juvenile Detention Facilities: Title 83 Nebraska Rules and Regulations.

Delinquency Intake Screening
Any person who has credible information may file a delinquency complaint. The County Attorney receives delinquency referrals, reviews them for legal sufficiency, makes handling decisions, and makes the charging decision.

Diversion
County attorneys determine a juvenile’s eligibility for diversion. Although guidelines recommend that only nonviolent misdemeanors be diverted, decisions are made on a case by case basis. Criteria include the juvenile’s age, the nature of the offense and the juvenile’s role in it, the threat that the juvenile poses to persons or property, and recommendations of the referring agency, the victim, and advocates for the juvenile. Statute prohibits diverting juveniles charged with the offenses of driving while intoxicated and implied consent refusal.

County attorneys, with the county board or a city attorney, may establish juvenile pretrial diversion programs. While more informal programs are operated out of county attorney's offices, more formal programs are often run by non-profit agencies that the county attorney refers youth to for diversion. Diversion programs include a letter of apology, community service, restitution, educational or informational sessions at a community agency, and juvenile offender and victim mediation. Successful completion of the program results in dismissal of the juvenile petition.

Each pretrial diversion program establishes an overall time limit for all offenses. Guidelines set the time limit at six months except in extenuating circumstances.

Nebraska Juvenile Pretrial Diversion Guidelines and Resources (2002), published by the Nebraska Crime Commission, outlines some recommendations and resources for diversion programs. The Nebraska Crime Commission developed standardized guidelines for collecting diversion data across the state.

Predisposition Investigation
Probation officers, working for the Office of Probation Administration, within the State Court Administrator's Office, develop the case for disposition, utilizing a court-ordered predisposition evaluation. The court can also order a more extensive evaluation through the Office of Juvenile Services (OJS).

Probation and OJS use different risk/needs assessment tools. Probation's evaluation encompasses prior record, family, social, educational, health, and substance abuse issues as they pertain to the juvenile and his or her family. After a pilot, the Probation Administration and OJS agreed to implement the Youth Level of Services Inventory as the common tool for both agencies.

Victim Rights and Services
Nebraska does not have a statute extending rights to victims of juvenile crime. However, the goals of pretrial diversion include promoting restitution to the victim.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Protection and Safety contracts with the Nebraska Mediation Center Association to provide mediation and conflict resolution services across the state. Upon request by HHS, the mediation centers can provide victim offender mediation to referred juvenile offenders if the victim voluntarily agrees.

The Nebraska Crime Commission administers the state crime victim compensation program.

Probation Supervision
The Office of Probation Administration, within the State Court Administrator's Office, administers probation services through 15 probation districts, 3 of which serve the counties with separate juvenile courts. In these three counties (Douglas, Sarpy, and Lancaster), separate probation offices handle juvenile caseloads. In the remaining 90 counties, probation officers carry caseloads of both juveniles and adults. The State Probation Central Office is located in Lincoln, which houses the administrator and two deputy administrators.

The state is divided into six regions that provide intensive supervision probation (ISP), and these officers serve both juveniles and adults. Officers work schedules vary depending on needs of clients and compliance checks. The utilization of trackers has helped probation officers have more accountability with their caseloads.

The court sets the terms of probation supervision. Currently, probation officers work with clients to meet the conditions of probation. After a pilot, the Probation Administration and the Office of Juvenile Services agreed to implement the Youth Level of Services Inventory as the common tool for both agencies. As part of the implementation of the YLSI, probation officers will develop a case plan in addition to the conditions of probation.

Legislation passed in 2001 gives counties funding to develop community-based services for juveniles, encouraging communities to serve youth locally rather than sending them to the state delinquency institutions or other expensive out-of-home placements. These funds cannot be used to construct or renovate juvenile facilities. LB640 requires each county to develop a comprehensive community juvenile services plan using a coalition of community members. Seventy of Nebraska’s 93 counties are involved in a comprehensive plan. Services or programs developed depend on the needs identified in the plan and include prevention activities, diversion, graduated sanctions, and substance abuse services. The entities providing services vary widely depending on the resources of the communities.

Juvenile Probation Officer Qualifications, Certification, and Training
Probation officers must have college degrees. The Office of Probation Administration, within the State Court Administrator's Office, sets the minimum performance and qualification standards for probation officers.

Although probation officers are not professionally certified in Nebraska, the Office of Probation Administration requires probation officers to be trained. They must attend 120 hours of initial training, which is provided by the state, and 24 hours of additional training each year, paid for by the state/county.

Juvenile Corrections Continuum
A youth can be directly committed to the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Juvenile Services (within the Office of Protection and Safety) for treatment.

OJS administers the juvenile corrections continuum, ranging from in-home services to out-of-home placements. There are two Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers (YRTCs), located in Geneva and Kearney.

The Office of Juvenile Services also maintains a 12-bed juvenile male sex offender program, an extension of the main program at the YRTC-Kearney. In addition, a substance abuse treatment program at Hastings Regional Center can house up to 40 male youth.

Community Corrections
Integrated Care Coordination Units (ICCUs), located across the state, are alternatives to committing juvenile offenders to state juvenile institutions. The overall purpose of the ICCU is to effectively manage the care of juvenile offenders with multiple and complex needs at the local level. The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Protection and Safety allots ICCUs 95% of the amount that the state would spend on youth in state custody. Behavioral Health Services in Lancaster County and central Nebraska laid the groundwork for the ICCUs by establishing community-based programs and developing wrap-around services.

Commitment to State
Commitment to the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Juvenile Services (OJS) is indeterminate. Upon commitment to the juvenile institution, OJS obtains custody of the adjudicated delinquent and makes placement decisions. Although the court selects the initial level of treatment and determines whether the juvenile will be placed, OJS may later decrease the level of treatment without court approval. A Department of Health and Human Services' Juvenile Services Officer supervises the juveniles during commitment.

After a pilot, the Probation Administration and the Office of Juvenile Services agreed to implement the Youth Level of Services Inventory as the common tool for both agencies. Both agencies will use the YLSI in making placement decisions.

Blended Sentencing
Nebraska has criminal blended sentencing - a court with criminal jurisdiction over a juvenile is authorized to impose a juvenile disposition following conviction in lieu of a criminal sentence, unless the juvenile was convicted of a crime for which a life term is required by law. For more information, click here.

The Department of Correctional Services administers the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility in Omaha, a maximum security youth confinement facility that houses youthful offenders adjudicated as adults (ages 13 to 18).

Direct Placement
The County Courts can place juveniles in local/private placements at any time without committing the juvenile to the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Juvenile Services (HHS-OJS). State Probation Administration is responsible for supervising these juveniles and submitting progress reports to the court and is involved in all court reviews.

Release
Juveniles are released from juvenile institutions upon successful completion of their individual programs or at a time when the Facility Administrator and the youth’s Juvenile Service Officer determine placement, supervision, and treatment in the community is available and will meet the juvenile’s needs. A Treatment Team submits a release recommendation to the Facility Administrator, who has final release authority.

Aftercare/Re-entry
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provides a case management system to all juveniles committed to HHS-Office of Juvenile Services. In consultation with the juvenile institutions, the HHS Juvenile Service Officer develops a case plan identifying aftercare services that will be provided to the juvenile upon release from the institution. Juvenile Service Officers are located in five service areas across the state.

State Laws

Legal Resources
Nebraska's juvenile code resides in Chapters 28 (Crime and Punishment), 29 (Criminal Procedure), 43 (Infants), and 83 (State Institutions)

Nebraska State Bar Association

Purpose Clauses
To read Nebraska's purpose clauses for delinquency proceedings and juvenile corrections, click here.

Delinquency Jurisdiction (as of the end of the 2005 legislative session)
Lower Age: None specified
Upper Age: 17
Extended Age of Delinquency Jurisdiction: 18

Juvenile Transfer Laws
For information on Nebraska's juvenile transfer laws, click here.

Juvenile Justice Leadership

Nebraska Coalition for Juvenile Justice
The Nebraska Crime Commission's Nebraska Coalition for Juvenile Justice operates as the State Advisory Group (SAG) guiding the expenditure of federal and State funds and overseeing compliance with the core requirements of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974.

Voices for Children in Nebraska
Voices for Children is an independent, nonprofit organization that addresses issues relating to parenting, family income, child care, foster care, child abuse, health, adoption, and juvenile justice.

Center on Children, Families, and the Law
The Center on Children, Families, and the Law (CCFL) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) was established in 1987 as a home for interdisciplinary research, teaching and public service on issues related to child and family policy and services.

Resources/Contacts
Center on Children, Families, and the Law
Nebraska Coalition for Juvenile Justice
Nebraska Crime Commission
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Juvenile Services
Nebraska Judicial Branch
Nebraska State Bar Association
Voices for Children in Nebraska
Nebraska Juvenile Justice Association
Heartland Juvenile Detention Association

Monica Miles
Juvenile Justice Specialist
Nebraska Crime Commission
PO Box 94946
Lincoln, NE 68509-4946
Phone: (402) 471-3998
Fax: (402) 471-2837
monica.miles@ncc.ne.gov

Ellen Fabian Brokofsky
Probation Administrator
Office of the Courts/Probation
P.O. Box 98910
Lincoln, NE 68509-8910
Phone: (402) 471-3730

Todd L. Reckling
Administrator
Office of Protection and Safety
P.O. Box 95044
Lincoln, NE. 68509
Phone: (402) 471-8404
todd.reckling@hhss.state.ne.us

The National Center for Juvenile Justice strives to make each State Profile as accurate as possible. Please bring any errors, updates, or additions to the attention of the State Profiles project manager. Persons listed as state contacts are not responsible for information contained in these profiles.

© 2000 (original copyright); © 2006 (most recent copyright) National Center for Juvenile Justice

Citation: National Center for Juvenile Justice. 2006. "Nebraska." State Juvenile Justice Profiles. Pittsburgh, PA: NCJJ. Online. Available: http://www.ncjj.org/stateprofiles/.