(402) 597-3100
voices@voicesforchildren.com

Data Snapshot: Kindergarten Court

Kids aren’t miniature adults. We don’t expect our little leaguers to play baseball as well as Major Leaguers. We don’t expect a third grader to read or solve math problems as well as a high schooler.  So why would we expect a young child who has engaged in bad behavior…...

Read more

YJAM Series: A Tale of Five Houses

On Halloween, we take our children trick or treating from house to house in the neighborhood, but at the end of the night, we come back to our own home to snuggle in, telling ghost stories over a cup of hot cider and a full bag of candy. All too…...

Read more

YJAM series: Choosing not to Prosecute Children

In elementary school, children are still learning to use the dictionary, parse words and stories for meaning, and multiply and divide fractions. They have barely begun to explore American history and civics, much less crime, punishment, and legal rights and consequences. However, Nebraska has no minimum age for charging children…...

Read more

YJAM Series: Making our Schools Safer for All Kids

Excellent schools are the foundation of a prosperous society where all people can succeed. A public school system that functions effectively for every child has the power to break the cycle of inter-generational poverty and open worlds of opportunity for all kids.  Education can mean the difference between employability and…...

Read more

Kick off Youth Justice Awareness Month by testing your knowledge!

Did you know that October is Youth Justice Awareness Month? To kick it off, we challenge you to test your own knowledge of our juvenile justice system with this short quiz. All this month, we will be bringing you blog posts that raise awareness about systemic ways Nebraska’s approach to…...

Read more

Screening for Risk: the Good, the Bad, and the Unknown in Nebraska’s RAI

A couple weeks ago, we posted an introduction to the Risk Assessment Instrument (RAI) used by probation officers to make detention determinations. We were left with a question: does the RAI accurately predict risk to miss court or reoffend before the first court appearance, in a way that will help…...

Read more

Screening for Risk: An Introducton to Nebraska’s Juvenile Intake RAI

A 15-year old is caught painting graffiti on a local bridge, and when police bring him home with the ticket, his mother tells them to take him in. She is worried because he has been coming home smelling like marijuana, but she’s also frustrated with his attitude in the home.…...

Read more

Data Snapshot: Nebraska’s Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers

Nationwide, states are reexamining their use of youth prisons to “treat” juvenile offenders.  A mounting body of evidence shows that correctional models are costly and ineffective at best, and dangerous at worst, when it comes to reducing recidivism and producing positive outcomes for juveniles.[1] Nebraska operates two large-scale “deep end”…...

Read more

Proposed Standards for Guardians ad Litem

Child welfare proceedings in Nebraska are titled “In the Interest of X,” where X is the name of the child.  Court jurisdiction is taken not by virtue of a charge against the parent, per se, but because there is a child whose needs are not being met.  The parties all…...

Read more

Keeping Nebraska’s Kids in Family Homes

Yesterday, Voices for Children hosted a lunch and learn event at the State Capitol highlighting the Annie E. Casey report “Every Kid Needs a Family.”  Panelists discussed the report and recommendations, and highlighted efforts already underway in Nebraska to keep at-risk children in the environment where they are best supported…...

Read more