28-710. Act, how cited; terms, defined.

(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) 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. Comprehensive assessment does not include a determination as to whether the child abuse or neglect occurred but does determine the need for services and support to address the safety of children and the risk of future abuse or neglect;

(d) Department means the Department of Health and Human Services;

(e) Investigation means fact gathering 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;

(f) 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;

(g) 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;

(h) 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;

(i) 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

(j) 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.

Source

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).