Article 29: Dispute Resolution Act and Uniform Mediation Act · Last amended 2019 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceSection 25-2909 requires the office to award annual grants to approved centers statewide, lists what an application for approval must include — a strategic plan, budget, staffing qualifications, and proof of nonprofit or court status — and requires each approved center to file annual reports.
Full Text of § 25-2909
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(1) The office shall annually award grants to approved centers. It is the intent of the Legislature that centers be established and grants distributed statewide.
(2) A center or an entity proposing a center may apply to the office for approval to provide services under the Dispute Resolution Act by submitting an application which includes:
(a) A strategic plan for the operation of the center;
(b) The center's objectives;
(c) The areas of population to be served;
(d) The administrative organization;
(e) Record-keeping procedures;
(f) Procedures for intake, for scheduling, and for conducting and terminating restorative justice programs and dispute resolution sessions;
(g) Qualifications for mediators and restorative justice facilitators for the center;
(h) An annual budget for the center;
(i) The results of an audit of the center for a period covering the previous year if the center was in operation for such period; and
(j) Proof of 501(c)(3) status under the Internal Revenue Code or proof of establishment by a court.
(3) The office may specify additional criteria for approval and for grants as it deems necessary.
(4) Annual reports shall be required of each approved center. The reports shall include the number and types of cases handled in the year and a showing of continued compliance with the act.
Source
Laws 1991, LB 90, § 9; Laws 2019, LB595, § 8.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-2909 governs how a center gets, and keeps, its approved status and its funding. The office must award grants to approved centers every year, and the Legislature intends those grants to reach centers spread across the state rather than concentrated in one region.
A center — or an organization proposing to start one — applies for approval by submitting a strategic plan, a statement of objectives, the population it intends to serve, its administrative structure, its record-keeping procedures, its intake and scheduling procedures, the qualifications it requires of its mediators and facilitators, an annual budget, a prior-year audit if it has been operating, and proof that it either holds 501(c)(3) nonprofit status or was established by a court. The office can add further criteria for approval or for grants as it sees fit.
Approval is not one-and-done. Every approved center files an annual report showing the number and types of cases it handled and demonstrating that it still meets the act’s requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every approved center get a grant automatically each year?
The office is required to award grants annually to approved centers, with the Legislature’s stated intent that centers and grants be distributed statewide.
What must a center include in its application for approval?
A strategic plan, its objectives, the population it will serve, its administrative organization, record-keeping procedures, intake and scheduling procedures, mediator and facilitator qualifications, an annual budget, a prior-year audit if applicable, and proof of nonprofit or court-established status.
Can a court itself establish a center, or must it be a nonprofit?
Either. The application requires proof of 501(c)(3) status under the Internal Revenue Code or proof of establishment by a court.
Can the office require more from an applicant than what’s listed in the statute?
Yes. The office may specify additional criteria for approval and for grants as it deems necessary.
What ongoing reporting does an approved center have to file?
An annual report covering the number and types of cases handled and showing continued compliance with the act.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:approved center application Nebraskamediation center grant requirementsannual report approved center501c3 mediation center Nebraskasection 25-2909 grant application