What is the JJDPA? Congress originally enacted the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) in 1974, landmark legislation meant to encourage age-appropriate, community-based responses to delinquent and status behavior. The law contains four core compliance measures that states must meet to receive federal funding for juvenile justice: Deinstitutionalization of…...
The Big Picture: 2015 Juvenile Justice Reform
This week, the legislature will consider a package of bills related to juvenile justice, including: LB 265, LB 347, LB 482, and LB 500. Here’s how they would all work together, in conjunction with current law and some other 2015 bills, to further improve Nebraska’s system for handling troubled youth....
Say What? A Mini Dictionary of the Juvenile Court, Part I
Every field of specialization has its own vocabulary, and the Nebraska juvenile code is no different. As a new legislative session begins and hundreds of bills are offered up for consideration, we here at Voices thought a quick (non-exclusive) list of definitions and commonly used acronyms might be helpful to…...
Race Matters in Juvenile Justice
In the wake of a violent fall, with the highly publicized deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice, among others, disproportionate minority contact with the law has become a front page issue. Though we are grateful that Nebraska has not suffered through a tragedy of this nature, information…...
Four Stars for Nebraska’s Policies on Confidentiality
Anyone who has lived with a teenager won’t be surprised to learn that adolescent brain development is linked with risky decision-making, impulsivity, and novelty-seeking behavior. Research has shown that experimentation is a key way the adolescent develops an independent sense of self. [1] Further, brain imaging of teenagers in recent years…...
