The official site of the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature

LEGISLATIVE BILL 1032
Approved by the Governor April 16, 2026

Introduced by DeBoer, 10; DeKay, 40; Conrad, 46.

A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to adoptions; to amend sections 43-107, 43-110,
43-116, 43-117, 43-117.02, 43-292, 43-1312, 43-1312.01, 43-1314, 43-1501,
43-1503, 43-1505, 43-1506, and 43-1507, Reissue Revised Statutes of
Nebraska, and sections 43-102, 43-104, 43-108, 43-109, 43-146.01,
43-246.01, and 43-292.02, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024; to
provide for recognition and enforcement of tribal customary adoptions; to
define and redefine terms; to change provisions relating to adoptions, the
Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act, termination of parental rights, and the
Foster Care Review Act; to harmonize provisions; and to repeal the
original sections.
Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
Section 1. Section 43-102, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024,
is amended to read:
43-102 (1) Any Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Indian Child
Welfare Act, any person or persons desiring to adopt a minor child or an adult
child shall file a petition for adoption signed and sworn to by the person or
persons desiring to adopt. The following shall be filed prior to the hearing
required under section 43-103:
(a) The consent or consents required by sections 43-104 and 43-105 or
section 43-104.07;
(b) The documents required by section 43-104.07 or the documents required
by sections 43-104.08 to 43-104.24;
(c) A completed preplacement adoptive home study if required by section
43-107;
(d) The completed and signed affidavit described in section 43-104.09 if
required by such section;
(e) The completed and signed affidavit described in section 43-104.16 if
required by such section; and
(f) When a consent is not required under subdivision (4)(c) of section
43-104, a certified copy of the termination order.
(2) The county court of the county in which the person or persons desiring
to adopt a child reside has jurisdiction of adoption proceedings, except that
if a juvenile court already has jurisdiction over the child to be adopted under
the Nebraska Juvenile Code, such juvenile court has concurrent jurisdiction
with the county court in such adoption proceeding. If a child to be adopted is
a ward of any court or a ward of the state at the time of placement and at the
time of filing an adoption petition, the person or persons desiring to adopt
shall not be required to be residents of Nebraska. The petition and all other
court filings for an adoption proceeding shall be filed with the clerk of the
county court. The party shall state in the petition whether such party requests
that the proceeding be heard by the county court or, in cases in which a
juvenile court already has jurisdiction over the child to be adopted under the
Nebraska Juvenile Code, such juvenile court. Such proceeding is considered a
county court proceeding even if heard by a juvenile court judge and an order of
the juvenile court in such adoption proceeding has the force and effect of a
county court order. The testimony in an adoption proceeding heard before a
juvenile court judge shall be preserved as in any other juvenile court
proceeding.
(3) This section does not apply to the extent otherwise provided for in
the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act.
Sec. 2. Section 43-104, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, is
amended to read:
43-104 (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section and in the
Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act, no adoption shall be decreed unless written
consents thereto are filed in the county court of the county in which the
person or persons desiring to adopt reside or in the county court in which the
juvenile court having jurisdiction over the custody of the child is located and
the written consents are executed by:
(a) The minor child, if over fourteen years of age; and
(b) Both parents of a child born in lawful wedlock if living, the
surviving parent of a child born in lawful wedlock, the mother of a child born
out of wedlock, or both the mother and father of a child born out of wedlock as
determined pursuant to sections 43-104.08 to 43-104.24.
(2) A written consent or relinquishment for adoption under this section
shall not be valid unless signed at least forty-eight hours after the birth of
the child.
(3) A petition for adoption shall attest that, at the time of filing:
(a) There were no pending motions in any other court having jurisdiction
over the minor child; and
(b) If a juvenile court has jurisdiction over the child, that adoption is
the permanency goal in proceedings in juvenile court.
(4) Consent shall not be required of any parent:
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(a) Who relinquished the child for adoption by a written instrument;
(b) Who abandoned the child for at least six months next preceding the
filing of the adoption petition;
(c) Whose parental rights to such child have been terminated by the order
of any court of competent jurisdiction; or
(d) Who is incapable of consenting.
(5) Consent shall not be required of a putative father who has failed to
timely file:
(a) A Notice of Objection to Adoption and Intent to Obtain Custody
pursuant to section 43-104.02 and, with respect to the absence of such filing,
a certificate has been filed pursuant to section 43-104.04; or
(b) A petition pursuant to section 43-104.05 for the adjudication of such
father's objection to the adoption and a determination of whether his consent
to the adoption is required and the mother of the child has timely executed a
valid relinquishment and consent to the adoption pursuant to such section.
(6) Consent shall not be required of an acknowledged or adjudicated father
who has failed to timely file a petition pursuant to section 43-104.05 for the
adjudication of such notice and a determination of whether his consent to the
adoption is required and the mother of the child has timely executed a valid
relinquishment and consent to the adoption pursuant to such section.
(7) Consent shall not be required of an acknowledged father, an
adjudicated father, or a putative father who is not required to consent to the
adoption pursuant to section 43-104.05 or 43-104.22.
(8) The validity of a relinquishment and consent for adoption is not
affected by the fact that a relinquishing person is a minor.
(9)(a) In private adoptions not involving relinquishment of a child to the
state or to a licensed child placement agency, a parent or parents who
relinquish a child for adoption shall be provided legal counsel of their choice
independent from that of the adoptive parent or parents. Such counsel shall be
provided at the expense of the adoptive parent or parents prior to the
execution of a written relinquishment and consent to adoption or execution of a
communication and contact agreement under section 43-166, unless specifically
waived in writing.
(b) In private adoptions and adoptions involving relinquishment of a child
to a licensed child placement agency other than the state, a parent or parents
contemplating relinquishment of a child for adoption shall be offered, at the
expense of the adoptive parent or parents or the agency, at least three hours
of professional counseling prior to executing a written relinquishment of
parental rights or written consent to adoption. Such relinquishment or consent
shall state whether the relinquishing parent or parents received or declined
counseling.
(10) In the case of a tribal customary adoption as defined in section
43-1503, no consent shall be required except for that of the Indian child's
tribe.
Sec. 3. Section 43-107, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended
to read:
43-107 (1)(a) For adoption placements occurring or in effect prior to
January 1, 1994, upon the filing of a petition for adoption, the county judge
shall, except in the adoption of children by stepparents when the requirement
of an investigation is discretionary, request the Department of Health and
Human Services or any child placement agency licensed by the department to
examine the allegations set forth in the petition and to ascertain any other
facts relating to such minor child and the person or persons petitioning to
adopt such child as may be relevant to the propriety of such adoption, except
that the county judge shall not be required to request such an examination if
the judge determines that information compiled in a previous examination or
study is sufficiently current and comprehensive. Upon the request being made,
the department or other licensed agency shall conduct an investigation and
report its findings to the county judge in writing at least one week prior to
the date set for hearing.
(1)(a) A (b)(i) For adoption placements occurring on or after January 1,
1994, a preplacement adoptive home study shall be filed with the court prior to
the hearing required in section 43-103, which study is completed by the
Department of Health and Human Services or a licensed child placement agency
within one year before the date on which the adoptee is placed with the
petitioner or petitioners and indicates that the placement of a child for the
purpose of adoption would be safe and appropriate.
(b) (ii) An adoptive home study shall not be required when the petitioner
is a stepparent of the adoptee unless required by the court. An adoptive home
study may be waived by the court upon a showing of good cause by the petitioner
when the petitioner is a biological grandparent or a step-grandparent who is
married to the biological grandparent at the time of the adoption if both are
adopting the child. For all petitions filed on or after January 1, 1994, the
judge shall order the petitioner or his or her attorney to request the Nebraska
State Patrol to file a national criminal history record information check by
submitting the request accompanied by two sets of fingerprint cards or an
equivalent electronic submission and the appropriate fee to the Nebraska State
Patrol for a Federal Bureau of Investigation background check and to request
the department to conduct and file a check of the central registry created in
section 28-718 for any history of the petitioner of behavior injurious to or
which may endanger the health or morals of a child. An adoption decree shall
not be issued until such records are on file with the court. The petitioner
shall pay the cost of the national criminal history record information check
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and the check of the central registry.
(c) (iii) The placement of a child for foster care made by or facilitated
by the department or a licensed child placement agency in the home of a person
who later petitions the court to adopt the child shall be exempt from the
requirements of a preplacement adoptive home study. The petitioner or
petitioners who meet such criteria shall have a postplacement adoptive home
study completed by the department or a licensed child placement agency and
filed with the court at least one week prior to the hearing for adoption.
(d) (iv) A voluntary placement for purposes other than adoption made by a
parent or guardian of a child without assistance from an attorney, physician,
or other individual or agency which later results in a petition for the
adoption of the child shall be exempt from the requirements of a preplacement
adoptive home study. The petitioner or petitioners who meet such criteria shall
have a postplacement adoptive home study completed by the department or a
licensed child placement agency and filed with the court at least one week
prior to the hearing for adoption.
(e) (v) The adoption of an adult child as provided in subsection (2) of
section 43-101 shall be exempt from the requirements of an adoptive home study
unless the court specifically orders otherwise. The court may order an adoptive
home study, a background investigation, or both if the court determines that
such would be in the best interests of the adoptive party or the person to be
adopted.
(f) (vi) Any adoptive home study required by this section shall be
conducted by the department or a licensed child placement agency at the expense
of the petitioner or petitioners unless such expenses are waived by the
department or licensed child placement agency. The department or licensed
agency shall determine the fee or rate for the adoptive home study.
(g) (vii) The preplacement or postplacement adoptive home study shall be
performed as prescribed in rules and regulations of the department and shall
include at a minimum an examination into the facts relating to the petitioner
or petitioners as may be relevant to the propriety of such adoption. Such rules
and regulations shall require an adoptive home study to include a national
criminal history record information check and a check of the central registry
created in section 28-718 for any history of the petitioner or petitioners of
behavior injurious to or which may endanger the health or morals of a child.
(2) Upon the filing of a petition for adoption, the judge shall require
that a complete medical history be provided on the child, except that in the
adoption of a child by a stepparent, biological grandparent, or step-
grandparent who is married to the biological grandparent at the time of the
adoption if both are adopting the child, the provision of a medical history
shall be discretionary. The On and after August 27, 2011, the complete medical
history or histories required under this subsection shall include the race,
ethnicity, nationality, Indian tribe when applicable and in compliance with the
Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act, or other cultural history of both biological
parents, if available. A medical history shall be provided, if available, on
the biological mother and father and their biological families, including, but
not limited to, siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, unless the
child is foreign born or was abandoned. The medical history or histories shall
be reported on a form provided by the department and filed along with the
report of adoption as provided by section 71-626. If the medical history or
histories do not accompany the report of adoption, the department shall inform
the court and the State Court Administrator. The medical history or histories
shall be made part of the court record. After the entry of a decree of
adoption, the court shall retain a copy and forward the original medical
history or histories to the department. This subsection shall only apply when
the relinquishment or consent for an adoption is given on or after September 1,
1988.
(3) After the filing of a petition for adoption and before the entry of a
decree of adoption for a child who is committed to the Department of Health and
Human Services, the person or persons petitioning to adopt the child shall be
given the opportunity to read the case file on the child maintained by the
department or its duly authorized agent. The department shall not include in
the case file to be read any information or documents that the department
determines cannot be released based upon state statute, federal statute,
federal rule, or federal regulation. The department shall provide a document
for such person's or persons' signatures verifying that he, she, or they have
been given an opportunity to read the case file and are aware that he, she, or
they can review the child's file at any time following finalization of the
adoption upon making a written request to the department. The department shall
file such document with the court prior to the entry of a decree of adoption in
the case.
(4) This section does not apply to the extent otherwise provided for in
the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act.
Sec. 4. Section 43-108, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, is
amended to read:
43-108 (1) The minor child to be adopted, unless such child is over
fourteen years of age, and the person or persons desiring to adopt the child
must appear in person before the judge at the time of hearing, except that when
the petitioners are married and one of them is present in court, the court, in
its discretion, may accept the affidavit of an absent spouse who is in the
armed forces of the United States and it appears to the court the absent spouse
will not be able to be present in court for more than a year because of his or
her military assignment, which affidavit sets forth that the absent spouse
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favors the adoption.
(2) This section does not apply to the extent otherwise provided for in
the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act.
Sec. 5. Section 43-109, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, is
amended to read:
43-109 (1) Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Indian Child
Welfare Act, if If, upon the hearing, the court finds that such adoption is for
the best interests of such minor child or such adult child, a decree of
adoption shall be entered. No decree of adoption shall be entered unless:
(a) It appears that the child has resided with the person or persons
petitioning for such adoption for at least six months next preceding the
entering of the decree of adoption, except that such residency requirement
shall not apply in an adoption of an adult child;
(b) The medical histories required by subsection (2) of section 43-107
have been made a part of the court record;
(c) The court record includes an affidavit or affidavits signed by the
relinquishing biological parent, or parents if both are available, in which it
is affirmed that, pursuant to section 43-106.02, prior to the relinquishment of
the child for adoption, the relinquishing parent was, or parents if both are
available were:
(i) Presented a copy or copies of the nonconsent form provided for in
section 43-146.06; and
(ii) Given an explanation of the effects of filing or not filing the
nonconsent form; and
(d) If the child to be adopted is committed to the Department of Health
and Human Services, the document required by subsection (3) of section 43-107
is a part of the court record.
(2) If the adopted child was born out of wedlock, that fact shall not
appear in the decree of adoption.
(3) The court may decree such change of name for the adopted child as the
petitioner or petitioners may request.
Sec. 6. Section 43-110, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended
to read:
43-110 Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare
Act, after After a decree of adoption is entered, the usual relation of parent
and child and all the rights, duties and other legal consequences of the
natural relation of child and parent shall thereafter exist between such
adopted child and the person or persons adopting such child and his, her or
their kindred.
Sec. 7. Section 43-116, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended
to read:
43-116 (1) When any court in the State of Nebraska has shall (1) have
entered of record a decree of adoption prior to August 27, 1949, it shall be
conclusively presumed that such adoption and all instruments and proceedings in
connection therewith are valid in all respects notwithstanding some defect or
defects may appear on the face of the record, or the absence of any record of
such court, unless an action shall be brought within two years from August 27,
1949, attacking its validity.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act,
when any court in the State of Nebraska has entered , or (2) hereafter enter of
record such a decree of adoption, it shall in like manner be conclusively
presumed that the adoption and all instruments and proceedings in connection
therewith are valid in all respects notwithstanding some defect or defects may
appear on the face of the record, or the absence of any record of such court,
unless an action is brought within two years from the entry of such decree of
adoption attacking its validity.
Sec. 8. Section 43-117, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended
to read:
43-117 (1) The Department of Health and Human Services may make payments
as needed, after the legal completion of an adoption, including a tribal
customary adoption as defined in section 43-1503, on behalf of a child who
immediately preceding the adoption was (a) a ward of the department with
special needs or (b) the subject of a state-subsidized guardianship. Such
payments to adoptive parents may include maintenance costs, medical and
surgical expenses, and other costs incidental to the care of the child.
Payments for maintenance and medical care shall terminate on or before the
child's twentieth birthday.
(2) The Department of Health and Human Services shall pay the treatment
costs for the care of an adopted minor child which are the result of an illness
or condition if within three years after the decree of adoption is entered the
child is diagnosed as having a physical or mental illness or condition which
predates the adoption and the child was adopted through the department, the
department did not inform the adopting parents of such condition prior to the
adoption, and the condition is of such nature as to require medical,
psychological, or psychiatric treatment and is more extensive than ordinary
childhood illness.
(3) The Department of Health and Human Services shall conduct a medical
assessment of the mental and physical needs of any child to be adopted through
the department, including a tribal customary adoption.
Sec. 9. Section 43-117.02, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
amended to read:
43-117.02 The Department of Health and Human Services may make a payment
of up to two thousand dollars on behalf of a child with special needs after the
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legal completion of the child's adoption, including a tribal customary adoption
as defined in section 43-1503. The payment to the adoptive parents shall be a
reimbursement for nonrecurring adoption expenses, including reasonable and
necessary adoption fees, court costs, attorney's fees, and other expenses which
are directly related to the legal adoption of the child, which are not incurred
in violation of law, and which have not been reimbursed from any other source
or funds.
Sec. 10. Section 43-146.01, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024,
is amended to read:
43-146.01 (1) Sections 43-106.02, 43-121, 43-123.01, and 43-146.02 to
43-146.16 shall provide the procedures for gaining access to information
concerning an adopted person when a relinquishment or consent for an adoption
is given on or after September 1, 1988.
(2) Sections 43-119 to 43-142 shall remain in effect for a relinquishment
or consent for an adoption which is given prior to September 1, 1988.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act,
subsection (2) of section 43-107 , and subsection (4) of this section: Sections
43-101 to 43-118, 43-143 to 43-146, 43-146.17, 71-626, 71-626.01, and 71-627.02
shall apply to all adoptions.
(4) Sections 43-143 to 43-146 shall not apply to adopted persons for whom
a relinquishment or consent for adoption was given on and after July 20, 2002.
Sec. 11. Section 43-246.01, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024,
is amended to read:
43-246.01 (1) The juvenile court shall have exclusive original
jurisdiction as to:
(a) Any juvenile described in subdivision (3) or (11) of section 43-247;
(b) Any juvenile who was under sixteen years of age at the time the
alleged offense was committed and the offense falls under subdivision (1) of
section 43-247;
(c) A party or proceeding described in subdivision (5) or (7) of section
43-247; and
(d) Any juvenile who was under fourteen years of age at the time the
alleged offense was committed and the offense falls under subdivision (2) of
section 43-247.
(2)(a) The juvenile court shall also have exclusive original jurisdiction
as to:
(i) Any juvenile who is alleged to have committed an offense under
subdivision (1) of section 43-247 and who was sixteen years of age or seventeen
years of age at the time the alleged offense was committed; and
(ii) Any juvenile who was fourteen years of age or older at the time the
alleged offense was committed and the offense falls under subdivision (2) of
section 43-247 except offenses enumerated in subdivision (1)(a)(ii) of section
29-1816.
(b) Proceedings initiated under subsection (2) of this section may be
transferred as provided in section 43-274.
(3)(a) The juvenile court shall have concurrent original jurisdiction with
the county court or district court as to:
(i) Any juvenile described in subdivision (4) of section 43-247;
(ii) Any proceeding under subdivision (6), (8), (9), or (10) of section
43-247; and
(iii) Any juvenile described in subdivision (1)(a)(ii) of section 29-1816.
(b) Proceedings initiated under subsection (3) of this section may be
transferred as provided in section 43-274.
(4) The juvenile court shall have the authority to grant temporary
concurrent jurisdiction to the tribal court of an Indian child's tribe for the
sole purpose of finalizing a tribal customary adoption as provided in sections
23 to 26 of this act.
Sec. 12. Section 43-292, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended
to read:
43-292 Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare
Act, the The court may terminate all parental rights between the parents or the
mother of a juvenile born out of wedlock and such juvenile when the court finds
such action to be in the best interests of the juvenile and it appears by the
evidence that one or more of the following conditions exist:
(1) The parents have abandoned the juvenile for six months or more
immediately prior to the filing of the petition;
(2) The parents have substantially and continuously or repeatedly
neglected and refused to give the juvenile or a sibling of the juvenile
necessary parental care and protection;
(3) The parents, being financially able, have willfully neglected to
provide the juvenile with the necessary subsistence, education, or other care
necessary for his or her health, morals, or welfare or have neglected to pay
for such subsistence, education, or other care when legal custody of the
juvenile is lodged with others and such payment ordered by the court;
(4) The parents are unfit by reason of debauchery, habitual use of
intoxicating liquor or narcotic drugs, or repeated lewd and lascivious
behavior, which conduct is found by the court to be seriously detrimental to
the health, morals, or well-being of the juvenile;
(5) The parents are unable to discharge parental responsibilities because
of mental illness or mental deficiency and there are reasonable grounds to
believe that such condition will continue for a prolonged indeterminate period;
(6) Following a determination that the juvenile is one as described in
subdivision (3)(a) of section 43-247, reasonable efforts to preserve and
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reunify the family if required under section 43-283.01, under the direction of
the court, have failed to correct the conditions leading to the determination;
(7) The juvenile has been in an out-of-home placement for fifteen or more
months of the most recent twenty-two months;
(8) The parent has inflicted upon the juvenile, by other than accidental
means, serious bodily injury;
(9) The parent of the juvenile has subjected the juvenile or another minor
child to aggravated circumstances, including, but not limited to, abandonment,
torture, chronic abuse, or sexual abuse;
(10) The parent has (a) committed murder of another child of the parent,
(b) committed voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent, (c) aided
or abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to commit murder, or aided or
abetted voluntary manslaughter of the juvenile or another child of the parent,
or (d) committed a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to the
juvenile or another minor child of the parent; or
(11) One parent has been convicted of felony sexual assault of the other
parent under section 28-319.01 or 28-320.01 or a comparable crime in another
state.
Sec. 13. Section 43-292.02, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024,
is amended to read:
43-292.02 (1) Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Indian Child
Welfare Act, a A petition shall be filed on behalf of the state to terminate
the parental rights of the juvenile's parents or, if such a petition has been
filed by another party, the state shall join as a party to the petition, and
the state shall concurrently identify, recruit, process, and approve a
qualified family for an adoption of the juvenile, if:
(a) A juvenile has been in foster care under the responsibility of the
state for fifteen or more months of the most recent twenty-two months; or
(b) A court of competent jurisdiction has determined the juvenile to be an
abandoned infant or has made a determination that the parent has committed
murder of another child of the parent, committed voluntary manslaughter of
another child of the parent, aided or abetted, attempted, conspired, or
solicited to commit murder, or aided or abetted voluntary manslaughter of the
juvenile or another child of the parent, or committed a felony assault that has
resulted in serious bodily injury to the juvenile or another minor child of the
parent. For purposes of this subdivision, infant means a child eighteen months
of age or younger.
(2) A petition shall not be filed on behalf of the state to terminate the
parental rights of the juvenile's parents or, if such a petition has been filed
by another party, the state shall not join as a party to the petition if the
sole factual basis for the petition is that (a) the parent or parents of the
juvenile are financially unable to provide health care for the juvenile or (b)
the parent or parents of the juvenile are incarcerated. The fact that a
qualified family for an adoption of the juvenile has been identified,
recruited, processed, and approved shall have no bearing on whether parental
rights shall be terminated.
(3) The petition is not required to be filed on behalf of the state or if
a petition is filed the state shall not be required to join in a petition to
terminate parental rights or to concurrently find a qualified family to adopt
the juvenile under this section if:
(a) The child is being cared for by a relative;
(b) The Department of Health and Human Services has documented in the case
plan or permanency plan, which shall be available for court review, a
compelling reason for determining that filing such a petition would not be in
the best interests of the juvenile; or
(c) The family of the juvenile has not had a reasonable opportunity to
avail themselves of the services deemed necessary in the case plan or
permanency plan approved by the court if reasonable efforts to preserve and
reunify the family are required under section 43-283.01.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act,
if a child is conceived by the victim of a sexual assault, a petition for
termination of parental rights of the perpetrator shall be granted if such
termination is in the best interests of the child and (a) the perpetrator has
been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to sexual assault of the
child’s birth parent under section 28-319 or 28-320 or a law in another
jurisdiction similar to either section 28-319 or 28-320 or (b) the perpetrator
has fathered the child or given birth to the child as a result of such sexual
assault.
(5) A petition for termination of parental rights is not required to be
filed on behalf of the state or, if a petition is filed, the state shall not be
required to join in the petition, if the juvenile is an Indian child who may be
eligible for a tribal customary adoption as defined in section 43-1503.
Sec. 14. Section 43-1312, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended
to read:
43-1312 (1) Following the investigation conducted pursuant to section
43-1311 and immediately following the initial placement of the child, the
person or court in charge of the child shall cause to be established a safe and
appropriate plan for the child. The plan shall contain at least the following:
(a) The purpose for which the child has been placed in foster care;
(b) The estimated length of time necessary to achieve the purposes of the
foster care placement;
(c) A description of the services which are to be provided in order to
accomplish the purposes of the foster care placement;
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(d) The person or persons who are directly responsible for the
implementation of such plan;
(e) A complete record of the previous placements of the foster child;
(f) The name of the school the child shall attend as provided in section
43-1311; and
(g) The efforts made to involve and engage the child in the development of
such plan as provided in the Nebraska Strengthening Families Act.
(2)(a) Subject to subdivision (2)(b) of this section, if (2) If the return
of the child to his or her parents is not likely based upon facts developed as
a result of the investigation, the Department of Health and Human Services
shall recommend termination of parental rights and referral for adoption,
guardianship, placement with a relative, or, as a last resort, and only in the
case of a child who has attained sixteen years of age, another planned
permanent living arrangement. If the child is removed from his or her home, the
department shall make reasonable efforts to accomplish joint-sibling placement
or sibling visitation or ongoing interaction between the siblings as provided
in section 43-1311.02.
(b) In the case of an Indian child who may be eligible for a tribal
customary adoption as defined in section 43-1503, the department may recommend
referral for a tribal customary adoption. If the department makes such a
recommendation, the department shall not recommend termination of parental
rights.
(3) Each child in foster care under the supervision of the state shall
have a permanency hearing by a court, no later than twelve months after the
date the child enters foster care and annually thereafter during the
continuation of foster care. The court's order shall include the determinations
required by section 43-4711 and a finding regarding the appropriateness of the
permanency plan determined for the child and shall include whether, and if
applicable when, the child will be:
(a) Returned to the parent;
(b) Referred to the state for filing of a petition for termination of
parental rights;
(c) Placed for adoption, including tribal customary adoption as defined in
section 43-1503;
(d) Referred for guardianship; or
(e) In cases where the state agency has documented to the court a
compelling reason for determining that it would not be in the best interests of
the child to return home, (i) referred for termination of parental rights, (ii)
placed for adoption with a fit and willing relative, or (iii) placed with a
guardian.
(4) As provided in the Nebraska Strengthening Families Act, in the case of
any child age sixteen years of age or older for whom another planned permanent
living arrangement is the recommended or court-approved permanency plan:
(a) The permanency plan shall include the identification of significant,
supportive connections with identified adults willing to be consistently
involved in the child’s life as the child transitions to adulthood;
(b) The department shall document the intensive, ongoing, and, as of the
date of the hearing, unsuccessful efforts made by the department to return the
child home or secure a placement for the child with a fit and willing relative,
a legal guardian, or an adoptive parent; and
(c) The court shall:
(i) Ask the child about the desired permanency outcome for the child;
(ii) Make a determination explaining why, as of the date of the hearing,
another planned permanent living arrangement is the best permanency plan for
the child and the compelling reasons why it continued to not be in the best
interests of the child to return home, be placed for adoption, be placed with a
legal guardian, or be placed with a fit and willing relative; and
(iii) Make a determination that the department has met the requirements in
subdivisions (a) and (b) of this subsection before approving a permanency plan
of another planned permanent living arrangement for a child sixteen years of
age or older.
Sec. 15. Section 43-1312.01, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
amended to read:
43-1312.01 (1) If the permanency plan for a child established pursuant to
section 43-1312 does not recommend return of the child to his or her parent or
that the child be placed for adoption, including a tribal customary adoption as
defined in section 43-1503, the juvenile court may place the child in a
guardianship in a relative home as defined in section 71-1901, in a kinship
home as defined in section 71-1901, or with an individual as provided in
section 43-285 if:
(a) The child is a juvenile who has been adjudged to be under subdivision
(3)(a) of section 43-247;
(b) The child has been in the placement for at least six months;
(c) The child consents to the guardianship, if the child is ten years of
age or older; and
(d) The guardian:
(i) Is suitable and able to provide a safe and permanent home for the
child;
(ii) Has made a commitment to provide for the financial, medical,
physical, and emotional needs of the child until the child reaches the age of
majority or until the termination of extended guardianship assistance payments
and medical care pursuant to section 43-4511;
(iii) Has made a commitment to prepare the child for adulthood and
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independence; and
(iv) Agrees to give notice of any changes in his or her residential
address or the residence of the child by filing a written document in the
juvenile court file of the child.
(2) In the order granting guardianship, the juvenile court:
(a) Shall grant to the guardian such powers, rights, and duties with
respect to the care, maintenance, and treatment of the child as the biological
or adoptive parent of the child would have;
(b) May specify the frequency and nature of family time or contact between
the child and his or her parents, if appropriate;
(c) May specify the frequency and nature of family time or contact between
the child and his or her siblings, if appropriate; and
(d) Shall require that the guardian not return the child to the physical
care and custody of the person from whom the child was removed without prior
approval of the court.
(3) The juvenile court shall retain jurisdiction over the child for
modification or termination of the guardianship order. The court shall
discontinue permanency reviews and case reviews and shall relieve the
Department of Health and Human Services of the responsibility of supervising
the placement of the child. Notwithstanding the retention of juvenile court
jurisdiction, the guardianship placement shall be considered permanent for the
child.
(4) The child shall remain in the custody of the guardian unless the order
creating the guardianship is modified by the court.
(5) Guardianships established under this section shall terminate on the
child's nineteenth birthday unless the child is eligible for continued
guardianship assistance payments under section 43-4511 and an agreement is
signed by the Department of Health and Human Services, the guardian, and the
young adult, as defined in section 43-4503, to continue the guardianship
assistance. The guardian shall ensure that any guardianship assistance funds
provided by the department and received by the guardian for the purpose of an
extended guardianship shall be used for the benefit of the young adult. The
department shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations defining services
and supports encompassed by such benefit.
(6) Upon the child's nineteenth birthday regardless of the existence of an
agreement to extend the guardianship until the child's twenty-first birthday,
the guardian shall no longer have the legal authority to make decisions on
behalf of the child and shall have no more authority over the person or
property of the child than a biological or adoptive parent would have over his
or her child, absent consent from the child.
(7) A guardianship established under this section does not terminate the
parent-child relationship, including:
(a) The right of the child to inherit from his or her parents;
(b) The right of the biological parents to consent to the child's
adoption; and
(c) The responsibility of the parents to provide financial, medical, or
other support as ordered by the court.
(8) The Department of Health and Human Services shall adopt and promulgate
rules and regulations for the administration of this section.
Sec. 16. Section 43-1314, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended
to read:
43-1314 (1) Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Indian Child
Welfare Act, notice of the court review or hearing and the right of
participation in all court reviews and hearings pertaining to a child in a
foster care placement shall be provided by the court having jurisdiction over
such child for the purposes of foster care placement. The Department of Health
and Human Services or contract agency shall have the contact information for
all child placements available for all courts to comply with the notification
requirements found in this section. The department or contract agency shall
each have one telephone number by which any court seeking to provide notice may
obtain up-to-date contact information of all persons listed in subdivisions (2)
(a) through (h) of this section. All contact information shall be up-to-date
within seventy-two hours of any placement change.
(2) Notice shall be provided to all of the following parties that are
applicable to the case: (a) The person charged with the care of such child; (b)
the child's parents or guardian unless the parental rights of the parents have
been terminated by court action as provided in section 43-292 or 43-297; (c)
the foster child if age fourteen or over; (d) the foster parent or parents of
the foster child; (e) the guardian ad litem of the foster child; (f) the office
and designated local board; (g) the preadoptive parent, including a preadoptive
parent of a tribal customary adoption as defined in section 43-1503; and (h)
the relative providing care for the child. Notice of all court reviews and
hearings shall be mailed or personally delivered to the counsel or party, if
the party is not represented by counsel, five full days prior to the review or
hearing. The use of ordinary mail shall constitute sufficient compliance.
Notice to the foster parent, preadoptive parent, or relative providing care
shall not be construed to require that such foster parent, preadoptive parent,
or relative is a necessary party to the review or hearing.
(3) The court shall inquire into the well-being of the foster child by
asking questions, if present at the hearing, of any willing foster parent,
preadoptive parent, or relative providing care for the child.
Sec. 17. Section 43-1501, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended
to read:
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43-1501 Sections 43-1501 to 43-1517 and sections 20 and 23 to 29 of this
act shall be known and may be cited as the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act.
Sec. 18. Section 43-1503, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended
to read:
43-1503 For purposes of the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act, except as
may be specifically provided otherwise:
(1) Active efforts shall mean and include, but not be limited to:
(a) A concerted level of casework, both prior to and after the removal of
an Indian child, exceeding the level that is required under reasonable efforts
to preserve and reunify the family described in section 43-283.01 in a manner
consistent with the prevailing social and cultural conditions and way of life
of the Indian child's tribe or tribes to the extent possible under the
circumstances;
(b) A request to the Indian child's tribe or tribes and extended family
known to the department or the state to convene traditional and customary
support and services;
(c) Actively engaging, assisting, and monitoring the family's access to
and progress in culturally appropriate and available resources of the Indian
child's extended family members, tribal service area, Indian tribe or tribes,
and individual Indian caregivers;
(d) Identification of and provision of information to the Indian child's
extended family members known to the department or the state concerning
appropriate community, state, and federal resources that may be able to offer
housing, financial, and transportation assistance and actively assisting the
family in accessing such community, state, and federal resources;
(e) Identification of and attempts to engage tribally designated Nebraska
Indian Child Welfare Act representatives;
(f) Consultation with extended family members known to the department or
the state, or a tribally designated Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act
representative if an extended family member cannot be located, to identify
family or tribal support services that could be provided by extended family
members or other tribal members if extended family members cannot be located;
(g) Exhaustion of all available tribally appropriate family preservation
alternatives; and
(h) When the department or the state is involved in a proceeding under the
act, the department or the state shall provide a written report of its attempt
to provide active efforts to the court at every hearing involving an Indian
child. This report shall be sent to the Indian child's tribe or tribes within
three days after being filed with the court and shall be deemed to be
admissible evidence of active efforts in proceedings conducted under the act;
(2) Best interests of the Indian child shall include:
(a) Using practices in compliance with the federal Indian Child Welfare
Act, the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act, and other applicable laws that are
designed to prevent the Indian child's voluntary or involuntary out-of-home
placement; and
(b) Whenever an out-of-home placement is necessary, placing the child, to
the greatest extent possible, in a foster home, adoptive placement, or other
type of custodial placement that reflects the unique values of the Indian
child's tribal culture and is best able to assist the child in establishing,
developing, and maintaining a political, cultural, and social relationship with
the Indian child's tribe or tribes and tribal community;
(3) Child custody proceeding shall mean and include:
(a) Foster care placement which shall mean any action removing an Indian
child from his or her parent or Indian custodian for temporary or emergency
placement in a foster home or institution or the home of a guardian or
conservator where the parent or Indian custodian cannot have the child returned
upon demand, but where parental rights have not been terminated;
(b) Termination of parental rights which shall mean any action resulting
in the termination of the parent-child relationship;
(c) Preadoptive placement which shall mean the temporary placement of an
Indian child in a foster home or institution:
(i) After after the termination of parental rights, but prior to or in
lieu of adoptive placement; or
(ii) Prior to a tribal customary adoption placement;
(d) Adoptive placement which shall mean the permanent placement of an
Indian child for adoption . This includes , including any action resulting in a
final decree of adoption, including a tribal customary adoption; and
(e) Voluntary foster care placement which shall mean a non-court-involved
proceeding in which the department or the state is facilitating a voluntary
foster care placement or in-home services to families at risk of entering the
foster care system. An Indian child, parent, or tribe involved in a voluntary
foster care placement shall only be provided protections as provided in
subsection (4) of section 43-1505 and sections 43-1506 and 43-1508.
Such term or terms shall not include a placement based upon an act which,
if committed by an adult, would be deemed a crime or upon an award, in a
divorce proceeding, of custody to one of the parents;
(4) The department or the state shall mean the applicable state social
services entity that is involved with the provision of services to Indian
children, specifically the Department of Health and Human Services and the
Office of Probation Administration in certain cases;
(5) Extended family member shall be as defined by the law or custom of the
Indian child's primary tribe or, in the absence of such laws or customs of the
primary tribe, the law or custom of the Indian child's other tribes or, in the
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absence of such law or custom, shall mean a person who has reached the age of
eighteen and who is the Indian child's parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, clan
member, band member, sibling, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, niece or nephew,
cousin, or stepparent;
(6) Federal Indian Child Welfare Act shall mean the federal Indian Child
Welfare Act of 1978, 25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.;
(7) Indian shall mean any person who is a member of an Indian tribe, or
who is an Alaska Native and a member of a regional corporation defined in
section 7 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 43 U.S.C. 1606;
(8) Indian child shall mean any unmarried person who is under age eighteen
and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) is eligible for membership
in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe;
(9) Indian child's primary tribe shall mean, in the case of an Indian
child that is a member or eligible for membership in multiple tribes, the tribe
determined by the procedure enumerated in subsection (4) of section 43-1504;
(10) Indian child's tribe or tribes shall mean the Indian tribe or tribes
in which an Indian child is a member or eligible for membership;
(11) Indian custodian shall mean any Indian person who has legal custody
of an Indian child under tribal law or custom or under state law or to whom
temporary physical care, custody, and control has been transferred by the
parent of such child;
(12) Indian organization shall mean any group, association, partnership,
limited liability company, corporation, or other legal entity owned or
controlled by Indians or a majority of whose members are Indians;
(13) Indian tribe shall mean any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other
organized group or community of Indians recognized as eligible for the services
provided to Indians by the secretary because of their status as Indians,
including any Alaska Native village as defined in section 3(c) of the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended, 43 U.S.C. 1602(c);
(14) Parent means any biological parent or parents of an Indian child or
any Indian person who has lawfully adopted an Indian child, including adoptions
under tribal law or custom. It does not include the unwed father when paternity
has not been acknowledged or established;
(15) Qualified expert witness shall mean one of the following persons, in
descending priority order although a court may assess the credibility of
individual witnesses:
(a) A member of the Indian child's tribe or tribes who is recognized by
the tribal community as knowledgeable in tribal customs as they pertain to
family and childrearing practices;
(b) A member of another tribe who is recognized to be a qualified expert
witness by the Indian child's tribe or tribes based on his or her knowledge of
the delivery of child and family services to Indians and the Indian child's
tribe or tribes;
(c) A lay expert witness that possesses substantial experience in the
delivery of child and family services to Indians and extensive knowledge of
prevailing social and cultural standards and childrearing practices within the
Indian child's tribe or tribes;
(d) A professional person having substantial education and experience in
the area of his or her specialty who can demonstrate knowledge of the
prevailing social and cultural standards and childrearing practices within the
Indian child's tribe or tribes; or
(e) Any other professional person having substantial education in the area
of his or her specialty;
(16) Reservation shall mean Indian country as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151
and any lands, not covered under such section, title to which is either held by
the United States in trust for the benefit of any Indian tribe or individual or
held by any Indian tribe or individual subject to a restriction by the United
States against alienation or a federally designated or established service area
which means a geographic area designated by the United States where federal
services and benefits furnished to Indians and Indian tribes are provided or
which is otherwise designated to constitute an area on or near a reservation;
(17) Secretary shall mean the Secretary of the United States Department of
the Interior;
(18) Tribal court shall mean a court with jurisdiction over child custody
proceedings and which is either a Court of Indian Offenses, a court established
and operated under the code or custom of an Indian tribe, or any other
administrative body of a tribe which is vested with authority over child
custody proceedings; and
(19) Tribal customary adoption means the adoption of an Indian child, by
and through the tribal custom, traditions, and law of the child's tribe, and
which may be effected without the termination of parental rights; and
(20) (19) Tribal service area shall mean a geographic area, as defined by
the applicable Indian tribe or tribes, in which tribal services and programs
are provided to Indians.
Sec. 19. Section 43-1505, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended
to read:
43-1505 (1) In any involuntary proceeding in a state court, when the court
knows or has reason to know that an Indian child is involved, the party seeking
the foster care placement of, or termination of parental rights to, an Indian
child shall send a notice conforming to the requirements of 25 C.F.R. 23.11 to
the parents, the Indian custodian, and the Indian child's tribe or tribes, by
registered mail with return receipt requested, of the pending proceedings and
of their right of intervention. If the identity or location of the parent or
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Indian custodian and the tribe or tribes cannot be determined, such notice
shall be given to the secretary in like manner, who may provide the requisite
notice to the parent or Indian custodian and the tribe or tribes. No foster
care placement or termination of parental rights proceedings shall be held
until at least ten days after receipt of notice by the parent or Indian
custodian and the tribe or tribes or the secretary. The parent or Indian
custodian or the tribe or tribes shall, upon request, be granted up to twenty
additional days to prepare for such proceeding.
(2) In any case in which the court determines indigency, the parent or
Indian custodian shall have the right to court-appointed counsel in any
removal, placement, or termination proceeding. The court may, in its
discretion, appoint counsel for the child upon a finding that such appointment
is in the best interests of the Indian child. When state law makes no provision
for appointment of counsel in such proceedings, the court shall promptly notify
the secretary upon appointment of counsel and request from the secretary, upon
certification of the presiding judge, payment of reasonable attorney's fees out
of funds which may be appropriated.
(3) Each party to a foster care placement or termination of parental
rights proceeding under state law involving an Indian child shall have the
right to examine all reports or other documents filed with the court upon which
any decision with respect to such action may be based.
(4) Any party seeking to effect a foster care placement of, or termination
of parental rights to, an Indian child under state law shall satisfy the court
that active efforts have been made to provide remedial services and
rehabilitative programs designed to prevent the breakup of the Indian family or
unite the parent or Indian custodian with the Indian child and that these
efforts have proved unsuccessful. Any written evidence showing that active
efforts have been made shall be admissible in a proceeding under the Nebraska
Indian Child Welfare Act. Prior to the court ordering placement of the child in
foster care or the termination of parental rights, the court shall make a
determination that active efforts have been provided or that the party seeking
placement or termination has demonstrated that attempts were made to provide
active efforts to the extent possible under the circumstances.
(5) The court shall not order foster care placement under this section in
the absence of a determination by the court, supported by clear and convincing
evidence, including testimony of qualified expert witnesses, that the continued
custody of the child by the parent or Indian custodian is likely to result in
serious emotional or physical damage to the child.
(6) The court shall not order termination of parental rights of an Indian
child under this section unless and until the court:
(a) Makes a determination in the absence of a determination by the court ,
supported by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, including testimony of
qualified expert witnesses, that the continued custody of the child by the
parent or Indian custodian is likely to result in serious emotional or physical
damage to the child; and .
(b) Makes a determination, in the case of an Indian child that may be
eligible for a tribal customary adoption, that such adoption would not be an
appropriate permanency plan and would not be in the best interests of the
Indian child. It shall be sufficient justification to find that a tribal
customary adoption would not be an appropriate permanency plan and would not be
in the best interests of the Indian child if:
(i) Notice was provided to the tribe of the Indian child as provided in
section 20 of this act; and
(ii) By the time of the initial appearance of the parties on the
termination of parental rights, the tribe did not file an objection with the
court stating its belief that tribal customary adoption would be appropriate
for the child and in the best interests of the Indian child.
Sec. 20. (1)(a) For any recommendation or request that the court change
an Indian child's permanency plan to anything other than returning the child to
the parent or home, the requestor or movant shall send notice of such
recommendation or request to the Indian child's tribe.
(b) The notice required by this subsection shall:
(i) Conform to the requirements of 25 C.F.R. 23.11;
(ii) Be sent by registered mail with return receipt requested;
(iii) Be sent at least twenty days prior to the hearing on the change in
permanency plan; and
(iv) State that the tribe has the right to file an objection with the
court by the time of the hearing stating the tribe's belief that tribal
customary adoption is an appropriate permanency plan for the child and in the
best interests of the Indian child.
(c) If the court receives such an objection from the Indian child's tribe
by the time of the hearing, the court shall deny such recommendation or request
and maintain the child's permanency plan as tribal customary adoption, or
change it to be tribal customary adoption, unless the court finds that
maintaining the child's permanency plan as tribal customary adoption or
changing it to tribal customary adoption is not in the best interests of the
Indian child.
(2)(a) Any person seeking to terminate the parental rights to an Indian
child under state law shall send notice of such intent to the Indian child's
tribe.
(b) The notice required by this subsection shall:
(i) Conform to the requirements of 25 C.F.R. 23.11;
(ii) Be sent by registered mail with return receipt requested;
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(iii) Be sent at least twenty days prior to the initial appearance of the
parties on termination; and
(iv) State that the tribe has the right to file an objection with the
court by the time of the initial appearance of the parties stating the tribe's
belief that tribal customary adoption is an appropriate permanency plan for the
child and in the best interests of the Indian child.
Sec. 21. Section 43-1506, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended
to read:
43-1506 (1) When any parent or Indian custodian voluntarily consents (a)
to a foster care placement or (b) to relinquishment or termination of parental
rights, such consent shall not be valid unless executed in writing and recorded
before a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction and accompanied by the
presiding judge's certificate that the terms and consequences of the consent
were fully explained in detail and were fully understood by the parent or
Indian custodian. The court shall also certify that either the parent or Indian
custodian fully understood the explanation in English or that it was
interpreted into a language that the parent or Indian custodian understood. Any
consent given prior to, or within ten days after, birth of the Indian child
shall not be valid.
(2) When the department or the state offers the parent, Indian child, or
Indian custodian services through a voluntary foster care placement or in-home
services and the department or the state knows or has reason to know that an
Indian child is involved, the department or the state shall notify the parent
or Indian custodian and the Indian child's tribe or tribes, by telephone call,
facsimile transmission, email, or registered mail with return receipt
requested, of the provision of services and any pending child custody
proceeding. If the identity or location of the parent or Indian custodian and
the tribe or tribes cannot be determined, such notice shall be given to the
secretary and the appropriate area director listed in 25 C.F.R. 23.11 in like
manner who may provide the requisite notice to the parent or Indian custodian
and the tribe or tribes. Notice shall be provided within five days after the
initiation of voluntary services.
(3) When the department or the state offers the parent or Indian custodian
services through a voluntary foster care placement or in-home services, the
Indian custodian of the child and the Indian child's tribe or tribes have a
right to participate in, provide, or consult with the department or the state
regarding the provision of voluntary services.
(4) When the department or the state offers the parent or Indian custodian
services through a voluntary foster care placement or in-home services, the
department or the state shall provide remedial services and rehabilitative
programs designed to prevent the breakup of the Indian family or unite the
parent or Indian custodian with the Indian child until these efforts have
proved unsuccessful.
(5) Prior to any voluntary relinquishment or termination of parental
rights proceeding in which the department or the state is a party or was
providing assistance to a parent or Indian custodian, the department or the
state or its designee shall submit the following information, in writing, to
the court if it has not previously been provided:
(a) The jurisdictional authority of the court in the proceeding;
(b) The date of the Indian child's birth and the date of any voluntary
consent to relinquishment or termination;
(c) The age of the Indian child at the time voluntary consent was given;
(d) The date the parent appeared in court and was informed by the judge of
the terms and consequences of any voluntary consent to relinquishment or
termination;
(e) The parent fully understood the explanation of such terms and
consequences in English or, when necessary, the explanation was interpreted
into a language that the parent understood and the parent fully understood the
explanation of such terms and consequences in the language into which such
terms and consequences were translated;
(f) The name and address of any prospective adoptive parent whose identity
is known to the consenting parent;
(g) The promises, if any, made to the parent, as a condition of the
parent's consent, including promises regarding the tribal affiliation or
health, ethnic, religious, economic, or other personal characteristics of any
adoptive family with which the child would be placed; and
(h) The details, if any, of an enforceable communication or contact
agreement authorized by section 43-162.
(6) In the case of an Indian child who may be eligible for a tribal
customary adoption, the court shall not order termination of parental rights
under this section unless and until the court determines that such adoption
would not be an appropriate permanency plan and would not be in the best
interests of the Indian child. It shall be sufficient justification to find
that a tribal customary adoption would not be an appropriate permanency plan
and would not be in the best interests of the Indian child if:
(a) Notice was provided to the tribe of the Indian child as provided in
section 20 of this act; and
(b) By the time of the initial appearance of the parties on the
termination of parental rights, the tribe did not file an objection with the
court stating its belief that tribal customary adoption would be appropriate
for the child and in the best interests of the Indian child.
(7) (6) Any parent or Indian custodian may withdraw consent to a foster
care or voluntary foster care placement under state law at any time and, upon
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such withdrawal, the child shall be returned to the parent or Indian custodian.
(8) (7) In any voluntary proceedings for termination of parental rights
to, or adoptive placement of, an Indian child, the consent of the parent may be
withdrawn for any reason at any time prior to the entry of a final decree of
termination or adoption, as the case may be, and the child shall be returned to
the parent.
(9) (8) After the entry of a final decree of adoption of an Indian child
in any state court, the parent may withdraw consent thereto upon the grounds
that consent was obtained through fraud or duress and may petition the court to
vacate such decree. Upon a finding that such consent was obtained through fraud
or duress, the court shall vacate such decree and return the child to the
parent. No adoption which has been effective for at least two years may be
invalidated under the provisions of this subsection unless otherwise permitted
under state law.
Sec. 22. Section 43-1507, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended
to read:
43-1507 Any Indian child who is the subject of any action for foster care
placement or termination of parental rights under state law, any parent or
Indian custodian from whose custody such child was removed, and the Indian
child's primary tribe may petition any court of competent jurisdiction to
invalidate such action upon a showing that such action violated any provision
of sections 43-1504 to 43-1506 or sections 20 and 23 to 29 of this act.
Sec. 23. (1) If a state court finds that tribal customary adoption is an
appropriate permanency plan under section 43-1312 and is in the best interests
of an Indian child and the Indian child's tribe consents in writing to the
tribal customary adoption, the state court shall grant temporary concurrent
jurisdiction to the tribal court of the Indian child's tribe for the sole
purpose of finalizing a tribal customary adoption according to the custom,
traditions, and laws of such tribe and the best interests of the Indian child.
(2) Within thirty days after the granting of temporary concurrent
jurisdiction under subsection (1) of this section, the department shall:
(a) Provide written notice to the Indian child's tribe describing:
(i) The elements that an order or judgment for tribal customary adoption
must include to be accepted by the state court as described in subdivision (2)
(a) of section 26 of this act;
(ii) The documents, reports, or other information that must be filed with
the state court upon transfer back to the state court for accepting the order
or judgment for tribal customary adoption as described in subdivision (2)(b) of
section 26 of this act; and
(iii) The tribe's right to conduct, or designate another to conduct, the
adoptive home study as described in section 24 of this act;
(b) Provide the Indian child's tribe and proposed tribal customary
adoptive parents with a written report on the Indian child. Such report shall
include, to the extent not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law:
(i) The medical background and tribal affiliations, if known, of the
child's biological parents; and
(ii) The child's educational information, developmental history, and
medical background, including all known diagnostic information, current medical
reports, and psychological evaluations; and
(c) Provide the Indian child's tribe a copy of all court filings,
including attachments and exhibits, from the state court proceeding, to the
extent not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law.
Sec. 24. (1) An Indian tribe participating in a tribal customary adoption
may conduct the adoptive home study required by section 43-107, or designate
another party to conduct such study in consultation with the tribe, so long as
the study meets the nationally accepted standards for tribal licensing and
approval.
(2) The state court shall accept such home study if the study uses the
prevailing social and cultural standards of the Indian child's tribe as the
standards to evaluate the proposed tribal customary adoptive placement.
Sec. 25. The tribe of an Indian child who is subject to a pending tribal
customary adoption may work in consultation with the department as the
department works with the proposed tribal customary adoptive parents to
finalize the written adoption assistance agreement as described in section
43-118.02 in order to ensure that the Indian child has access to all available
state, federal, and tribal resources for which such child is or will be
eligible after the decree of adoption, including, but not limited to, services
through the Indian Health Service.
Sec. 26. (1)(a) Within one hundred twenty days after receiving notice of
the transfer of concurrent jurisdiction under section 23 of this act, the
tribal court shall:
(i) Finalize the order or judgment of tribal customary adoption;
(ii) Transfer proceedings back to state court; and
(iii) Provide the state court with a copy of such final order or judgment.
(b) If the requirements of subdivision (1)(a) of this section are not met
within the one-hundred-twenty-day deadline, the grant of concurrent
jurisdiction to the tribal court shall expire and the proceedings shall
transfer back to the state court, unless the state court finds that the Indian
child's tribe has demonstrated good cause for an extension. Extensions under
this subdivision may be granted in increments of no more than sixty days.
(2) The state court shall accept such order or judgment and give it full
faith and credit so long as:
(a) The order or judgment:
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(i) Includes a description of:
(A) Any rights retained by the Indian child's biological parents or Indian
custodian, including contact to be maintained, if any, and the rights of
inheritance of the child; and
(B) The Indian child's legal relationship with the tribe;
(ii) Does not include any child support obligation from the Indian child's
biological parents or Indian custodian; and
(iii) If applicable and appropriate, has the findings required to ensure
the Indian child is eligible to receive Title IV-E or Nebraska adoption
assistance payments; and
(b) Unless otherwise exempted, all documents and records required by
sections 43-102, 43-107, and 43-109 have been filed with the court, as well as:
(i) A record of the Indian child and the biological parents' tribal
membership and affiliations; and
(ii) The most recently filed cumulative active efforts report as described
by subdivision (1)(h) of section 43-1503.
(3) If the state court accepts such order or judgment, the state court
shall enter a decree of adoption. Such decree shall include:
(a) A description of any rights retained by the Indian child's biological
parents or Indian custodian, including contact to be maintained, if any, and
rights of inheritance of the child, as specified within the tribal customary
adoption order or judgment;
(b) A statement that any parental rights or obligations not specified in
the tribal customary adoption order or judgment are transferred to the tribal
customary adoptive parents;
(c) A description of the Indian child's legal relationship with the tribe;
and
(d) If applicable and appropriate, the findings required to ensure the
Indian child is eligible to receive Title IV-E or Nebraska adoption assistance
payments.
(4)(a) Any parental rights or obligations not specifically retained by the
Indian child's biological parents in the decree of adoption are conclusively
presumed to transfer to the tribal customary adoptive parents.
(b) The retention of any rights by the Indian child's biological parents
or Indian custodian, including contact to be maintained and rights of
inheritance of the child, as specified within the tribal customary adoption
order or judgment, shall not be grounds for challenging or terminating the
adoption on the basis that the biological parent or Indian custodian retained
any parental or custodial rights, responsibilities, or benefits.
(5) A prospective tribal customary adoptive parent is not required to file
a petition for adoption under section 43-102.
(6) Consent by the Indian child or their biological parents is not
required to enter a decree of adoption under this section.
(7) After the decree of adoption is entered, the tribal customary adoption
is legally complete and the juvenile court shall terminate its jurisdiction
over the Indian child.
Sec. 27. Nothing in sections 23 to 26 of this act is intended to prevent
the transfer of proceedings to a tribal court when transfer is otherwise
permitted under applicable law.
Sec. 28. A tribal customary adoption shall be accorded full faith and
credit by the courts of this state and shall be treated in all respects as any
other adoption for all other purposes under Nebraska law, except to the extent
otherwise provided for in the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act.
Sec. 29. (1) The department may adopt and promulgate rules and
regulations to carry out sections 20 and 23 to 28 of this act and the changes
to other sections made by this legislative bill.
(2) The Supreme Court may adopt rules and forms to assist in the carrying
out of sections 20 and 23 to 28 of this act and the changes to other sections
made by this legislative bill.
Sec. 30. Original sections 43-107, 43-110, 43-116, 43-117, 43-117.02,
43-292, 43-1312, 43-1312.01, 43-1314, 43-1501, 43-1503, 43-1505, 43-1506, and
43-1507, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, and sections 43-102, 43-104,
43-108, 43-109, 43-146.01, 43-246.01, and 43-292.02, Revised Statutes
Cumulative Supplement, 2024, are repealed.
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