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 Congress originally enacted the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) in 1974, landmark legislation meant to encourage age-appropriate, community-based responses to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…...
Child Welfare Financing in Nebraska
Last week, the Nebraska Children’s Commission released a back-to-basics primer that lays out in detail the full picture of how child welfare is financed in Nebraska. Authored by the national nonprofit ChildFocus, the document is the result of meticulous investigation. The authors completed a comprehensive review of state and federal…...
Voices for Children Statement on LB 482 Passage
Omaha – Following the passage on final reading of LB 482, Voices for Children Executive Director Carolyn Rooker released the following statement: “We want to thank the legislature for taking a major step towards juvenile justice reform in the passing of LB 482. By ending the indiscriminate shackling of…...
National Child Abuse Prevention Month
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which presents an opportunity to consider child welfare issues from a wider context before allegations of maltreatment come about. In 2013, 3,993 Nebraska children were victims of maltreatment (at a rate of about 8.6 per 1,000 children), marking a slight increase from the…...
Ask Your Senator to Support LB 243
All children deserve loving and permanent relationships with adults that they can trust and learn from, especially as they transition into adulthood. This is particularly important for children and youth in the child welfare system. In addition to the trauma that led to their initial placement, children in care often…...
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....
