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LB 238

Exempt local foster care review boards from the Open Meetings Act and eliminate obsolete provisions regarding an advisory group

109th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Machaela Cavanaugh

LB 238 exempts local foster care review boards from Open Meetings Act, allowing confidential, possibly virtual, audits and decisions to guide foster care permanency planning.

Title printed. Carryover bill
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Bill Summary · LB 238

Summary of LB 238 (Nebraska)

Bill: LB 238
Title: Exempt local foster care review boards from the Open Meetings Act and eliminate obsolete provisions regarding an advisory group
Introduced: January 14, 2025
Primary Sponsor: Senator Machaela Cavanaugh
Committee: Government, Military and Veterans Affairs
Hearing: Notice of hearing for March 13, 2025
Status: Referred to committee; hearing scheduled

Purpose and intent

LB 238 seeks to exempt local foster care review boards from the Open Meetings Act so members can conduct case reviews by virtual meeting. The bill also aims to harmonize statute, eliminate obsolete provisions related to an advisory group, and repeal a related section (43-1306) that is considered superseded.

Key provisions

  • Section 43-1304 (local boards)

    • Establishes local foster care review boards responsible for conducting foster care file audit case reviews for children in foster care and carrying out other duties under the Foster Care Review Act.
    • Local boards will be appointed by the office’s executive director from applications; each board will have 4–10 members.
    • Board membership must reasonably represent the county’s social, economic, racial, and ethnic groups.
    • Individuals employed by the office, DHHS, residential child-caring agencies, child-placing agencies, or the court cannot serve on a local board.
    • A list of local board members must be provided to the department and the Office of Probation Administration.
    • Local boards “shall not be public bodies for purposes of the Open Meetings Act.”

  • Section 43-1308 (board duties and confidentiality)

    • Boards must conduct foster care file audits at least once every six months for each child in care, assessing progress toward the permanency plan.
    • Within 30 days after each audit, the board must submit findings and recommendations to the court, addressing: whether continued out-of-home placement is needed, safety and appropriateness of the current placement, rationale, and the next audit date; and potential permanency actions (adoption, guardianship, relative placement, or other permanent living arrangements).
    • May request a court review hearing if in the child’s best interest.
    • Emphasizes promoting stability and continuity in foster care and encouraging recruitment of eligible adoptive foster parents.
    • Confidential and protected information (child-specific and family-specific mental/behavioral health information) discussed in a local board meeting or portions thereof are exempt from the Open Meetings Act.

  • Repeals and obsolete provisions

    • Repeals 43-1306 (as cited in the 2024 Cumulative Supplement) and related obsolete provisions, including references to an advisory group.

Who is affected

  • Local foster care review boards (creation, size, appointment, duties, and confidentiality rules).
  • The Office of the Foster Care Review (and related state agencies: DHHS, department, and probation administration) via reporting requirements and board membership oversight.
  • Foster children and families (beneficiaries of audits, permanency planning, and court recommendations).
  • Public access and transparency considerations, given the exemption from the Open Meetings Act for board meetings and for confidential information portions.

Procedural and timeline notes

  • Introduced: January 14, 2025
  • Referred to: Government, Military and Veterans Affairs (January 16, 2025)
  • Notice of hearing: March 3, 2025
  • Hearing date: March 13, 2025

Observations

  • The bill prioritizes confidentiality and operational flexibility (notably via virtual meetings) at the potential cost of public access to local board deliberations.
  • It aligns local board proceedings with sensitive child-family information while preserving the court reporting and permanency planning process.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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