When children get in trouble with the law, our system should ensure they are held accountable for their actions in an age-appropriate, fair and just way. No one should face trial and punishment without understanding their rights, the possible consequences, and the reasons why; this is particularly true for young…...
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”…...
Barriers to Economic Opportunity for Low Income Women
Families should be able to achieve financial security through hard work and we should ensure that policies support working families. Financially secure parents can provide their children with adequate housing, child care, health care, food and transportation. As a state, one of the best ways that we can improve childhood…...
A closer look at Nebraska’s YRTCs
Every year, Nebraska’s courts send a number of serious and not-so-serious juvenile offenders to the Youth Residential Treatment Centers (YRTCs) in Kearney and Geneva. Like all placements and services ordered under Nebraska’s juvenile code, the goal in placing youth at these institutions should be their rehabilitation. Both YRTCs’…...
