Sections 6-1201 through 6-1210 shall govern all problem-solving courts established by and within the Nebraska judicial system. Problem-solving courts shall exist and be established only upon approval of the Nebraska Supreme Court.

§ 6-1201 amended September 21, 2016.

   For purposes of §§ 6-1201 through 6-1210, problem-solving courts are programs and services established within the district, county, or juvenile courts and shall include, but are not limited to, programs established pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 24-1302 and programs established for the treatment of problems related to issues such as substance abuse, mental health, and domestic violence. The purpose of the programs and services is to reduce recidivism by fostering a comprehensive and coordinated court response composed of early intervention, appropriate treatment, intensive supervision, and consistent judicial oversight.

Adopted January 24, 2007, effective March 1, 2007. Renumbered and codified as § 6-1202, effective July 18, 2008; § 6-1202 amended September 21, 2016; § 601202 amended February 14, 2019.

   Sections 6-1201 through 6-1210 are promulgated under the authority of article V, § 1, of the Nebraska Constitution and Neb. Rev. Stat. § 24-1302.

§ 6-1203 amended September 21, 2016.

   The purpose of §§ 6-1201 through 6-1210 is to institute requirements for the establishment and operation of problem-solving courts in Nebraska.

§ 6-1204 amended September 21, 2016.

   Sections 6-1201 through 6-1210 shall apply to all Nebraska problem-solving court judges and personnel regardless of funding source.

§ 6-1205 amended September 21, 2016.

 § 6-1206 amended September 21, 2016; § 6-1206 amended February 14, 2019.

   (A) In order to establish or expand a problem-solving court as defined in § 6-1202, approval must first be granted by the Nebraska Supreme Court pursuant to Neb. Ct. R. §§ 6-1201 through 6-1210.

   (B) Problem-solving courts shall adhere to the 10 Key Components as identified and approved by the National Association of Drug Court Professionals in January 1997, and utilize evidence-based practices as identified by applicable social science research and literature. In addition, family treatment courts shall adhere to the Family Treatment Court Common Characteristics promulgated by the National Drug Court Institute in 2018.

   (C) Any court interested in expanding an existing problem-solving court or starting a new problem-solving court shall provide a written Notice of Intention to the State Court Administrator. The written notice shall include:

   (1) A general program description to include the following;

   (a) Location of problem-solving court;

   (b) Type of problem-solving court;

   (c) The program elements, including, but not limited to, whether it is a postplea or pre- or postadjudication program;

   (d) The judicial oversight of problem-solving court; and

   (e) The level of support from:

   (i) County attorney;

   (ii) Public defender;

   (iii) Treatment providers and, in the case of family treatment courts, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services;

   (iv) Law enforcement;

   (v) County board; and

   (vi) Chief probation officer;

   (2) A description of the target population it intends to serve and the estimated number of participants in the first year of operation;

   (3) Program goals and intended outcomes and how they will be measured;

   (4) An established eligibility criteria for participation in the problem-solving court which includes a standardized, validated risk instrument as approved by the Administrative Office of the Courts;

   (5) The process or procedure by which an individual gains acceptance to participate in the problem-solving court;

   (6) Drug/alcohol testing protocol;

   (7) A protocol for adhering to appropriate and legal confidentiality requirements and a plan to provide all team members with an orientation regarding the confidentiality requirements of 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2 and 42 C.F.R. part 2, if applicable;

   (8) The terms and conditions of participation in the problem-solving court, including, but not limited to, treatment; drug testing requirements; the expected intensity of supervision; the anticipated types and intensity of treatment, education, and employment programs to be provided; phase requirements; graduation/completion requirements; graduated sanctions and rewards; and any applicable program service fees;

   (9) The process or procedure by which a participant's progress in the problem-solving court is monitored; and

   (10) Written policies and procedures governing its general administration, including those relating to organization, personnel, and finance.

   (D) After reviewing the Notice of Intention, the State Court Administrator will refer the request to the Statewide Problem-Solving Court Coordinator or request additional information from the applying court.

   (E) At the direction of the State Court Administrator, the Statewide Problem-Solving Court Coordinator will begin an initial assessment of the request to include:

   (1) Data supporting the need for and cost of the proposed problem-solving court and quantifying the expected benefits;

   (2) The existence and applicability of evidence-based practices specific to the operation of the proposed court;

   (3) Available resources;

   (4) Needed resources;

   (5) Problem-solving court funding plan;

   (6) Whether a problem-solving court model for the proposed court has been approved by the Supreme Court and Nebraska Supreme Court Committee on Problem-Solving Courts; and

   (7) The existence and applicability of Best Practice Standards approved by the Supreme Court.

   (F) Upon completion of the initial assessment, the Statewide Problem-Solving Court Coordinator shall present the information and any recommendations to the State Court Administrator and the State Probation Administrator.

   (G) If, after review of the Statewide Problem-Solving Court Coordinator’s assessment and recommendations, the State Court Administrator determines the request shall be denied, a report shall be submitted to the applying judge explaining the reasons therefor and outlining potential next steps.

   (H) If, after review of the Statewide Problem-Solving Court Coordinator’s assessment and recommendations, the State Court Administrator determines the request warrants submission to the Nebraska Supreme Court, the Statewide Problem-Solving Court Coordinator shall facilitate and assist the proponents in the fulfillment of the requirements for establishing or expanding a problem-solving court outlined in Neb. Ct. R. §§ 6-1201 through 6-1210.

   (I) Upon receipt of the State Court Administrator’s determination that the request warrants submission to the Supreme Court, the proponents of the court shall submit to the Statewide Problem-Solving Court Coordinator all documents required for establishing or expanding a problem-solving court described in Neb. Ct. R. §§ 6-1201 through 6-1210.

   (J) The Statewide Problem-Solving Court Coordinator shall review the documents submitted by proponents and determine whether the information submitted is in compliance with Neb. Ct. R. §§ 6-1201 through 6-1210. If the Coordinator so determines, the request shall be submitted by the Statewide Problem-Solving Court Coordinator to the State Court Administrator requesting Supreme Court approval. If the Coordinator determines the information is not in compliance with Neb. Ct. R. §§ 6-1201 through 6-1210, the Coordinator shall address the deficiencies with the proponents until compliance is achieved or until the Coordinator determines the requirements of Neb. Ct. R. §§ 6-1201 through 6-1210 cannot be met. A determination that the requirements of Neb. Ct. R. §§ 6-1201 through 6-1210 cannot be met shall be communicated in writing to the State Court Administrator for further action by the Administrator.

   (K) Upon approval by the Supreme Court, the applying problem-solving court will work with the Statewide Problem-Solving Court Coordinator to develop an implementation plan to include but not be limited to:

   (1) Personnel;

   (2) Timelines;

   (3) Training;

   (4) Daily operations; and

   (5) Technical assistance.

   (L) Any changes in the material submitted pursuant to § 6-1207(C) shall be submitted to the Administrative Office of the Courts in a timely manner for approval by the Nebraska Supreme Court.

   (M) Screening and treatment for substance use shall adhere to Neb. Ct. R., Ch. 6, Art. 13, Substance Use Services adopted by the Nebraska Supreme Court.

   (N) The Court may from time to time modify the requirements set forth in § 6-1207(A) through (M).

   (O) The Court shall reserve the right to allow exemptions to any of the requirements set forth in § 6-1207(A) through (K). Any request for an exemption shall be made to the Court in writing. Exemptions shall also be terminated at the discretion of the Court.

§ 6-1207(B) amended June 24, 2015; § 6-1207 amended September 21, 2016; § 6-1207 amended February 14, 2019; § 6-1207(B) and (C)(1)(e)(iii) amended April 15, 2020.

   (A) All problem-solving courts shall be postplea or postadjudication in nature and, with respect to reentry courts, postsentencing.

   (B) Following the effective date of these rules, all new problem-solving courts, with the exception of family dependency drug courts, shall utilize probation personnel.

   (C) Before receiving any funding from the Administrative Office of the Courts, problem-solving courts shall have an interlocal agreement or other contract in place. Problem-solving courts directly utilizing probation personnel shall have an interlocal agreement with the Office of Probation Administration outlining the roles, responsibilities, obligations, and the collection of probation fees. Problem-solving courts that are not directly utilizing probation personnel shall have an interlocal agreement or other contract with the Administrative Office of the Courts outlining the roles, responsibilities, and obligations of each. Family treatment courts shall have an interlocal agreement or other contract with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services identifying the roles, responsibilities, and obligations of each.

   (D) Problem-solving courts applying for access to treatment funds managed by the Office of Probation Administration shall enter into an interlocal agreement with the Office of Probation Administration outlining roles, responsibilities, obligations, and the collection of fees. Such problem-solving courts shall adhere to all Office of Probation Administration policies and procedures in regard to the Offender Fee for Service Voucher Program.

   (E) Problem-solving courts shall not deny participation to anyone based on a person's financial status, gender, age, race, religion, physical or mental disability, or ethnicity.

   (F) Participants must sign an appropriate consent for disclosure upon application for entry into a problem-solving court in accordance with confidentiality requirements of 42 U.S.C. 290dd-2 and 42 C.F.R. part 2.

   (G) Problem-solving courts shall have a core team of professionals responsible for the case management of participants. All members of the core team of professionals shall complete orientation and continuing education and training appropriate to the operation of the specific problem-solving court. Content, intervals, and duration for the specific problem-solving court’s education program shall be as established by the Director of Judicial Branch Education, subject to the approval of the Supreme Court, using national and state best practice standards.

   (H) Problem-solving courts shall advise the Administrative Office of the Courts, in writing, of the source(s) of all program funding. Problem-solving courts eligible for available federal funding or other grant-based funding are encouraged to make all reasonable efforts to secure such funding.

   (I) Problem-solving courts in which the collection of state or local fees applies shall not deny entrance nor terminate from the program based on an individual's inability to pay.

   (J) All problem-solving court participants shall remit all state or local fee payments to the clerk of the court. The clerk of the court shall collect all required state and local fees and shall disperse and report such fees according to law and the policies of the Administrative Office of the Courts.

   (K) All problem-solving courts shall collect management information and data on the governance and operation of the courts and shall report such information and data in such reports and at such frequency as required by these rules and Appendix 1 and as the Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation may from time to time require.

   The collection and reporting of the information and data shall be by utilization of the Nebraska Probation Application for Community Safety System (NPACS). The scope of the data and information collected and reported shall be as necessary to comply with the reporting requirements in the problem-solving court’s performance measures and the problem-solving court’s audit process as more fully described in Appendix 1 to these rules.

   (L) All problem-solving courts shall utilize evidence-based practices as identified by applicable scientific research and literature and shall adhere to best practice standards. 

   (M) The Court shall reserve the right to allow exemptions to any of the requirements set forth in § 6-1208(A) through (L). Any request for an exemption shall be made to the Court in writing. Exemptions shall be terminated at the discretion of the Court.

§ 6-1208(K) and (L) amended June 24, 2015; § 6-1208 amended September 21, 2016; § 6-1208(A), (K), and (L) amended February 14, 2019; § 6-1208(G) amended April 10, 2019; § 6-1208(C) amended April 15, 2020; § 6-1208(K)-(M) amended September 21, 2022.

   (A) Problem-solving courts shall collect and record the data necessary to permit the Administrative Office of the Courts to facilitate outcome and process evaluations. At a minimum, the data to be collected and recorded shall include:

   (1) Information regarding participant census, including numbers of:

   (a) active participants

   (b) total participants served since program's inception

   (c) graduates

   (d) participants terminated

   (2) Participant demographics including, but not limited to:

   (a) age

   (b) race

   (c) ethnicity

   (d) gender

   (3) Participant program compliance, including, but not limited to:

   (a) attendance in treatment

   (b) drug testing

   (c) phase movement

   (d) attendance in other services

   (B) Problem-solving courts shall utilize the statewide case management system as approved by the Administrative Office of the Courts to record its data when such statewide case management system becomes available. Until then, such courts shall, in a timely manner, provide data to the Administrative Office of the Courts as requested.

   (C) Problem-solving courts shall participate fully in any process or outcome evaluation facilitated by the Administrative Office of the Courts.

   (D) Unauthorized disclosure of confidential information regarding participants is prohibited.

   (E) The Court shall reserve the right to allow exemptions to any of the requirements set forth in § 6-1209(A) through (D). Any request for an exemption shall be made to the Court in writing. Exemptions shall be terminated at the discretion of the Court.

§ 6-1209 amended September 21, 2016; § 6-1209(E) amended February 14, 2019.

  (A) Each problem-solving court shall have a written plan setting forth the procedure for the succession of the judge or judges who serve as the problem-solving court judge in the event of the death, disability, retirement, resignation, removal, elevation to another court, or failure to be retained by the judge then serving the court. For all problem-solving courts in existence as of the date of the adoption of this rule, such succession plans shall be submitted to the Supreme Court for approval no later than May 1, 2017. For problem-solving courts implemented after the effective date of this rule, succession plans shall be included as part of the information submitted to the Supreme Court for approval of the problem-solving court under § 6-1207.

   (B) Such plan shall require the successor judge so identified to receive training appropriate to the problem-solving court at the National Judicial College, under programs offered by the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, or equivalent training as approved by the Nebraska Statewide Problem-Solving Court Coordinator.

   (C) The plan shall provide that the training shall take place before the commencement of service of the successor, except in the event of extraordinary circumstances, and with approval of the Supreme Court, the training requirement may be fulfilled after commencement of such service.

   (D) Such succession plan shall be reviewed, amended as necessary to reflect current circumstances, and resubmitted to the Supreme Court every 3 years after May 1, 2017. The succession plan may include such other provisions as each problem-solving court shall deem necessary and appropriate for the continued operation of each court.

§ 6-1210 adopted August 5, 2016; § 6-1210(A) amended May 2, 2017; § 6-1210(A) amended February 14, 2019.