News and Updates
- Chief Justice Mike Heavican addressed the Legislature in his 2010 State of the Judiciary Address on January 21. Read his address to the Legislature.
- The Supreme Court Commission on Children in the Courts developed Guidelines for Parenting Times for Children in Out of Home Care. The Commission recommends that judges use these guidelines when they issue parenting time (visitation) orders for children in foster care.
- Studies of Representation of Children and Youth in Nebraska Pursuant to LB 961 (2008), a study of Nebraska's guardian ad litem practices, was undertaken by the National Association of Counsel for Children (Denver, CO), and a study of Nebraska's juvenile indigent defense system in delinquency cases was undertaken by the National Juvenile Defender Center (Washington, DC). Read the GAL report. Read the juvenile defense report.
- Read 2009 Nebraska Children’s Summit in the November/December 2009 Nebraska Lawyer Magazine.
- The Early Development Network is sponsoring a 2-day conference on Infant Mental Health on March 1-2, 2010 in Omaha-LaVista. The conference is directed toward professionals working with infants and toddlers who have been abused or neglected, including judges, attorneys, and CASA. View the flyer for more information. There is no cost to attend. Download the registration form here.
A Note From the Chief Justice
Chief Justice Michael Heavican
October 7, 2009
The theme of the 2009 Nebraska Children's Summit was "Action to Impact" to reflect our goal of moving from agreeing on best practices and improving permanency of children in foster care to make sure that our efforts are having a real impact on the lives of children and families. It is clear that we need to become better at measuring what the courts are doing and what the outcomes are for children in our courts. The data reports on case progression timelines that teams received at the Children's Summit are a first step in better monitoring our outcomes. Teams will continue to receive data reports until the JUSTICE court data system can generate reports on a regular basis.
Upcoming Events
| Time | Event Title |
|---|---|
| Feb 18th | 11th District - Team 3 (McCook) Team Meeting |
| Feb 24th | Omaha Model Court Team Meeting |
| Mar 24th | Omaha Model Court Team Meeting |
| Apr 28th | Omaha Model Court Team Meeting |
| May 26th | Omaha Model Court Team Meeting |
| more … |
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Priorities
- Reduce the time to reunification
- Improve systems effectiveness with parents with substance abuse issues
- Improve the use of parenting time to improve permanency
Spotlight Issue
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Reforming Juvenile Justice Through Impact Litigation: Can recent success in California be duplicated in Nebraska?
by Mark Porto
As an attorney who performs a rather high percentage of my practice in the juvenile court arena, I have heard many foster parents, support workers, and even the occasional caseworker complain about the rather minimal amount of financial assistance provided to foster parents. It took my recent trip to the National Juvenile Law Conference in New York City, however, to truly understand just how poorly we, as Nebraskans, treat these often thankless heroes in the lives of children who wind-up in the foster care system. Specifically, the presentation I attended was conducted by attorneys from the Children’s Advocacy Institute in California who had recently participated in groundbreaking federal litigation regarding the sufficiency—or insufficiency—of reimbursement payments issued to foster care providers. This was truly an eye-opening presentation which I believe could very well be duplicated in Nebraska.
Spotlight Team
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Team 2 – Sarpy County: A Mediation Pilot on Permanency Pre-Hearing Conferences and Pre-Hearing TPR Conferences
In collaboration with the Concord Center and Nebraska Office of Dispute Resolution, the Sarpy County team led by Judge Bob O’Neal and Judge Larry Gendler has secured funding from DHHS for a pilot mediation project beginning in October 2009. The pilot project will involve two types of structured facilitated discussion: Pre-Hearing Termination of Parental Rights Conference (PHTPR) and Permanency Pre-Hearing Conference (PPHC). Over 20 current cases have been selected to be included in the pilot, which is expected to run through June 2010. The goal is to replicated this pilot project in five other juvenile court settings. Mediators from the Concord Center will lead the structured facilitated discussions. Both mediations are governed by Neb. Rev. Stat. section 43-247.01, in that all discussions are considered confidential and privileged.
Latest Caselaw Updates
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In re Interest of Manuel C.
Filed on January 5, 2010 Not designated for permanent publication A-09-767 SUMMARY: A father striking his 13-year-old child multiple times with an extension cord, although this being the only time he had hit the child, was sufficient to find the child within the meaning of 43-247(3)(a). Manuel, DOB 8/95, is the child of Jesus. On April 14, 2009, [...]
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In re Damion H. and Alexandria J.
Filed on January 5, 2010 Not designated for permanent publication A-09-656 SUMMARY: The father’s ongoing alcohol use that prevents him from properly parenting and the mother’s protection of the father and failure to protect the children from him establish that it was proper to terminate the parents’ parental rights. Alexandria J., DOB 12/92, and Damion H., DOB 9/96 were [...]
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In re Interest of Chance J.
Filed on December 31, 2009 279 Neb. 81, _____ N.W.2d _____ SUMMARY: A difference in physical appearance between the parent and child or a suspicion based on infidelity are not just causes for abandonment of a child born in wedlock. Chance, DOB 4/17/06, was removed from the mother’s care in June 2007. On February 6, 2002, the [...]
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In re Interest of Marcella B. and Juan S.
Filed on November 24, 2009 18 Neb. App. 153, _____ N.W.2d _____ SUMMARY: A denial to allow in-chambers testimony from the child is not a final, appealable order. Marcella B. and Juan S. were removed from the mother on January 26, 2009, on allegations of inappropriate physical contact and failure to provide appropriate care, support and/or supervision. [...]
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In re Interest of Hope L. et al
Filed on November 13, 2009 278 Neb. 869, ____ N.W.2d ____ SUMMARY: A parent’s past history of mental illness and ability to recover is relevant to the issues of whether the parent can be rehabilitated and whether termination is in the children’s best interests. As Neb. Rev. Stat. section 43-292(6) was not a ground alleged, the [...]
