LB800 is a bill that addresses early intervention, parental involvement, school attendance and alternatives to detention. The bill delineates child-focused graduated sanctions for probation violations and speeds up the timeline in which evaluations of youth are to be completed and appear again before the court. It expressly prohibits status offenders from being sent to secure detention and authorizes the use of videoconferencing in certain juvenile proceedings. It also introduces authority for police officers to issue "civil citations" to juveniles with minor offenses to avoid having an arrest record and it implements several provisions intended to address truency.

Passed by the Legislature, 48-0-1, on April 12, 2010. Approved by the Governor April 13, 2010.

• Judiciary

• LB800 Amendment-Enrollment and Review ST9095 (04/06/2010)
• LB800 Amendment-Karpisek AM2266 (03/18/2010)
• LB800 Amendment-Ashford (03/26/2010)
• LB800 Amendment-Karpisek AM2461 (03/31/2010)
• LB800 Enrollment and Review (03/18/2010)
• LB800 Amendment-Judiciary Committee (03/04/2010)

• No additional documents

• No action alerts are associated with this legislation.

In favor: Voices for Children in Nebraska.

Voices for Children statement: Voices for Children in Nebraska testified in support of the intent of the bill and in full support of several of the provisions therein. We do have some concerns about vague definitions and wide discretion for implementation that could hamper the effectiveness of some of these reforms, at best. At worst, we are concerned it could create greater disparity for children of color and those from low-income families in our state. We believe that Senator Ashford intends to address concerns raised during the hearing by amending the bill. We do greatly appreciate the commitment of Senator Ashford and his staff to juvenile justice reform and we hope to continue to work with him and ensure the bill that leaves the committee will be one we can support without hesitation.