Nebraska lawmakers consider one-year study on missing Black women and children

Lincoln — Sen. Ashley Spivey on Thursday urged the Judiciary Committee to advance LB751, a one-year study she said would identify barriers to reporting and investigating missing Black women and children in Nebraska and recommend steps to improve coordination between law enforcement and community partners.

"This bill ensures we have better practices and can be informed around the issue that is in front of us," Spivey said, opening the billʼs hearing. She cited national National Crime Information Center figures showing Black women and girls are overrepresented in missing-person reports and state research indicating hundreds of missing people per year in Nebraska.

The bill would direct the Nebraska State Patrol, in collaboration with local law enforcement, federal partners and community organizations, to convene stakeholders, review five years of data, identify reporting and investigative gaps, and produce policy recommendations. Spivey said the study would not divert resources from other investigations and would have a stop date after one year.

Families and advocates delivered personal testimony. Caprice Hollis, whose sister Kamisha Hollis disappeared in Omaha in 2018, submitted a letter read into the record describing ongoing uncertainty and urging lawmakers to address what she described as inconsistent attention to missing Black and Brown people. Spivey also narrated case summaries — including Amber Harris, who was last seen after stepping off a school bus in 2005, and Tyler Thomas, whose body has not been recovered — to illustrate the human impact behind the numbers.

State and local advocacy groups backed the bill. Dr. Ebony Caridine, representing the Nebraska Commission on African American Affairs, and Joy Katherima of Black Girl (organization), emphasized that research and data collection can improve reporting, media attention, and interagency responses. Chloe Fowler of the Nebraska Childrenʼs Commission described how the study could reveal system gaps for children who go missing after contact with child welfare or juvenile services.

Committee members asked about the fiscal note, data sources and the studyʼs scope. Spivey said the fiscal office believes agencies can absorb work associated with the study, and she pointed to precedents such as LB154, a prior study on missing and murdered Indigenous women and children, whose recommendations led to a dedicated position in the attorney generalʼs office.

Several supporters recommended partnering with the Nebraska Commission on African American Affairs and community-based providers. A small number of public commenters raised broader concerns about judicial and grant processes but did not oppose the billʼs intent.

The committee heard more than a dozen proponents and recorded no formal opponents in the room. The next procedural step would be committee consideration for advancement to general file; no committee vote was recorded at Thursdayʼs hearing.