29-2252. Probation administrator; duties.

The administrator shall:

(1) Supervise and administer the office;

(2) Establish and maintain policies, standards, and procedures for the system, with the concurrence of the Supreme Court;

(3) Prescribe and furnish such forms for records and reports for the system as shall be deemed necessary for uniformity, efficiency, and statistical accuracy;

(4) Establish minimum qualifications for employment as a probation officer in this state and establish and maintain such additional qualifications as he or she deems appropriate for appointment to the system. Qualifications for probation officers shall be established in accordance with subsection (4) of section 29-2253. An ex-offender released from a penal complex or a county jail may be appointed to a position of deputy probation or parole officer. Such ex-offender shall maintain a record free of arrests, except for minor traffic violations, for one year immediately preceding his or her appointment;

(5) Establish and maintain advanced periodic inservice training requirements for the system;

(6) Cooperate with all agencies, public or private, which are concerned with treatment or welfare of persons on probation;

(7) Organize and conduct training programs for probation officers. Training shall include the proper use of a risk and needs assessment, risk-based supervision strategies, relationship skills, cognitive behavioral interventions, community-based resources, criminal risk factors, and targeting criminal risk factors to reduce recidivism and the proper use of a matrix of administrative sanctions, custodial sanctions, and rewards developed pursuant to subdivision (18) of this section. All probation officers employed on or after August 30, 2015, shall complete the training requirements set forth in this subdivision;

(8) Collect, develop, and maintain statistical information concerning probationers, probation practices, and the operation of the system and provide the Community Corrections Division of the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice with the information needed to compile the report required in section 47-624;

(9) Interpret the probation program to the public with a view toward developing a broad base of public support;

(10) Conduct research for the purpose of evaluating and improving the effectiveness of the system. Subject to the availability of funding, the administrator shall contract with an independent contractor or academic institution for evaluation of existing community corrections facilities and programs operated by the office;

(11) Adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary or proper for the operation of the office or system. The administrator shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for transitioning individuals on probation across levels of supervision and discharging them from supervision consistent with evidence-based practices. The rules and regulations shall ensure supervision resources are prioritized for individuals who are high risk to reoffend, require transitioning individuals down levels of supervision intensity based on assessed risk and months of supervision without a reported major violation, and establish incentives for earning discharge from supervision based on compliance;

(12) Transmit a report during each even-numbered year to the Supreme Court on the operation of the office for the preceding two calendar years which shall include a historical analysis of probation officer workload, including participation in non-probation-based programs and services. The report shall be transmitted by the Supreme Court to the Governor and the Clerk of the Legislature. The report submitted to the Clerk of the Legislature shall be submitted electronically;

(13) Administer the payment by the state of all salaries, travel, and actual and necessary expenses incident to the conduct and maintenance of the office;

(14) Use the funds provided under section 29-2262.07 to augment operational or personnel costs associated with the development, implementation, and evaluation of enhanced probation-based programs and non-probation-based programs and services in which probation personnel or probation resources are utilized pursuant to an interlocal agreement authorized by subdivision (16) of this section and to purchase services to provide such programs aimed at enhancing adult probationer or non-probation-based program participant supervision in the community and treatment needs of probationers and non-probation-based program participants. Enhanced probation-based programs include, but are not limited to, specialized units of supervision, related equipment purchases and training, and programs that address a probationer's vocational, educational, mental health, behavioral, or substance abuse treatment needs;

(15) Ensure that any risk or needs assessment instrument utilized by the system be periodically validated;

(16) Have the authority to enter into interlocal agreements in which probation resources or probation personnel may be utilized in conjunction with or as part of non-probation-based programs and services. Any such interlocal agreement shall comply with section 29-2255;

(17) Collaborate with the Community Corrections Division of the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice and the Division of Parole Supervision to develop rules governing the participation of parolees in community corrections programs operated by the Office of Probation Administration;

(18) Develop a matrix of rewards for compliance and positive behaviors and graduated administrative sanctions and custodial sanctions for use in responding to and deterring substance abuse violations and technical violations. As applicable under sections 29-2266.02 and 29-2266.03, custodial sanctions of up to thirty days in jail shall be designated as the most severe response to a violation in lieu of revocation and custodial sanctions of up to three days in jail shall be designated as the second most severe response;

(19) Adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for the creation of individualized post-release supervision plans, collaboratively with the Department of Correctional Services and county jails, for probationers sentenced to post-release supervision; and

(20) Exercise all powers and perform all duties necessary and proper to carry out his or her responsibilities.

Each member of the Legislature shall receive an electronic copy of the report required by subdivision (12) of this section by making a request for it to the administrator.

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