|
12/18/2007 -
Spare Some Change report released
|
All children in Nebraska have the right to due
process and equal protection through systems that
provide fair and lawful determination and habilitative
services when necessary. Children often end up in
the juvenile justice system because of mental and
emotional health problems. While prevention and rehabilitation
are proven to be effective, they are often not readily
available.
In 2005, 15,291 Nebraska juveniles were arrested,
a slight decrease from the previous year.
Voices for Children launched a juvenile justice initiative
in 1990 with four years of funding from the Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Our
public education campaign promoted removing kids from
jails and creating community-based rehabilitative
services. During the ten years since that campaign
began, Nebraska has come into compliance with the
federal OJJDP Act requiring that juvenile offenders
be separated from adult offenders, that status offenders
not be held in locked facilities and that we address
the overrepresentation of minority youth in our juvenile
justice system. In 2005, 72 youth were processed throught
the adult system and held in adult prisons.
Standards were established for juvenile detention
centers and staff-secure holdovers, The Office of
Juvenile Services was created to prioritize juvenile
services, and a special Youth Correction facility
for young serious offenders was built in Omaha. As
school expulsion policies were tightened we established
requirements for alternative educational programs
in all schools.
 Download:
Spare Some Change: An Account of the Nebraska Juvenile
Justice and Children's Behavioral Health Care Systems
Much work is yet to be done in the area of
Juvenile Justice. Voices for Children is working for:
· increased funding for community-based services,
· significant facility improvements at our
State-run youth facilities,
· more prevention services,
· mental health services both inside and outside
of institutional settings,
· expansion of programs for youth suspended
and expelled from school, and
· a more streamlined, comprehensive delivery
system for juvenile services.
National
Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
www.ncjfcj.org
NCJRS
Justice Information Center
www.ncjrs.org
Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/
|
