83-4,134.01. Juvenile facility; legislative intent; placement in room confinement; provisions applicable; report; Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare; duties; disciplinary action.

(1) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a system of investigation and performance review in order to provide increased accountability and oversight regarding the use of room confinement for juveniles in a juvenile facility.

(2) The following shall apply regarding placement in room confinement of a juvenile in a juvenile facility:

(a) Room confinement of a juvenile for longer than one hour shall be documented and approved in writing by a supervisor in the juvenile facility. Documentation of the room confinement shall include the date of the occurrence; the race, ethnicity, age, and gender of the juvenile; the reason for placement of the juvenile in room confinement; an explanation of why less restrictive means were unsuccessful; the ultimate duration of the placement in room confinement; facility staffing levels at the time of confinement; and any incidents of self-harm or suicide committed by the juvenile while he or she was isolated;

(b) If any physical or mental health clinical evaluation was performed during the time the juvenile was in room confinement for longer than one hour, the results of such evaluation shall be considered in any decision to place a juvenile in room confinement or to continue room confinement;

(c) The juvenile facility shall submit a report quarterly to the Legislature on the juveniles placed in room confinement; the length of time each juvenile was in room confinement; the race, ethnicity, age, and gender of each juvenile placed in room confinement; facility staffing levels at the time of confinement; and the reason each juvenile was placed in room confinement. The report shall specifically address each instance of room confinement of a juvenile for more than four hours, including all reasons why attempts to return the juvenile to the general population of the juvenile facility were unsuccessful. The report shall also detail all corrective measures taken in response to noncompliance with this section. The report shall redact all personal identifying information but shall provide individual, not aggregate, data. The report shall be delivered electronically to the Legislature. The initial quarterly report shall be submitted within two weeks after the quarter ending on September 30, 2016. Subsequent reports shall be submitted for the ensuing quarters within two weeks after the end of each quarter;

(d) The Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare shall review all data collected pursuant to this section in order to assess the use of room confinement for juveniles in each juvenile facility and prepare an annual report of his or her findings, including, but not limited to, identifying changes in policy and practice which may lead to decreased use of such confinement as well as model evidence-based criteria to be used to determine when a juvenile should be placed in room confinement. The report shall be delivered electronically to the Legislature on an annual basis; and

(e) Any juvenile facility which is not a residential child-caring agency which fails to comply with the requirements of this section is subject to disciplinary action as provided in section 83-4,134. Any juvenile facility which is a residential child-caring agency which fails to comply with the requirements of this section is subject to disciplinary action as provided in section 71-1940.

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