162 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 5, § 003
The Office may adopt policies and procedures necessary to carry out these rules and regulations.
The Office authorizes duly trained and qualified staff and local board members to visit and observe foster care facilities on behalf of the Office, including visiting a foster child in his or her placement.
Visits may be arranged in advance with the foster care placement or facility. The visit may be conducted at a time when the foster child will be present at the foster home, group home or other placement facility. The duly trained and qualified board members or staff may interview the foster parents or staff about the child's behaviors, needs and services. They may request file information about the child.
In the case of group facilities, they may also interview facility staff regarding the physical plant, the services and programs offered at the facility, the type of discipline used and the services/programs available to the foster children outside of the facility. The visits may include a tour of the facility's physical plant.
Upon request from the facility, a duly trained and qualified board members or staff conducting the visit may review the records of a foster child that are maintained at the foster home/facility.
Information from the visit will be presented to the local board to be considered in the review of the child's case. If a foster home or other foster care facility refuses to allow the Office or its designee to conduct a visit, a report will also be submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services.
If an Office staff member or local board member suspects abuse or neglect of the foster child or another child in the foster home/facility, they shall promptly report this to the proper law enforcement agency or the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-711.
Staff and local board members may also attend informational visits arranged with group facilities for the purpose of better understanding the care provided to the children who reside at that facility.
162 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 5, § 003
Annotation: See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-1303(2) (b); § 28-711.