Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative

By Jennifer Chrystal-Clark, Deputy Douglas County Attorney
 

  Juvenile Court is an entity unique from any other Court and one’s experience in Juvenile Court can be stressful. For a prosecutor, not only are they burdened with proving the facts in a case but they also must deal with numerous entities involved in the Juvenile Court system. There are the police who may have removed the children; child protective services who conduct an initial assessment for the family; medical personal who examine the children for any physical signs of abuse; and mental health professionals who provide therapeutic needs for the family.

Governor Heineman hesitated; then accepted proposed changes to the child welfare system during the legislative session. Heineman withheld support of proposed child welfare legislation at first, later signing a package of bills after his administration worked with lawmakers on the legislation. He says the focus now must be on making the system better. “And, at the end of the day, this is all about the kids,” according to Heineman. “How do we make sure we’re taking care of the kids and their families?” [...]
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An expert on child medications and behavioral and mental health will speak in North Platte in May. Kayla Pope, M.D., J.D., will speak in North Platte on May 14 at the Holiday Inn highlighting the use of medications to treat behavioral and mental health problem in children, and when those medications make sense. She will speak from 1-4:15 p.m. Pope's talk is part of a Nebraska Supreme Court-sponsored lecture series that will travel the state in April and May as part of the Through the Eyes of a Child initiative. She is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and the Director of Neurobehavioral Research at Boys Town National Research Hospital. [...]
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LINCOLN (AP) — Nebraska needs to remove fewer children from their homes and do a better job coaching parents before family problems escalate into abuse and neglect, the new director of the state's child and family services agency said. Thomas Pristow is assuming his new role at a time of upheaval for the Nebraska Division of Child and Family Services. The former Marine with a master's degree in social work said he wants to restore public confidence in a system plagued by financial problems, high staff turnover and a failure to place many children in permanent homes. [...]
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The new head of Nebraska's child and family services agency says the state needs to remove fewer children from their homes and do a better job coaching parents before family problems escalate into abuse and neglect. Thomas Pristow is assuming his new role at a time of upheaval for the Nebraska Division of Child and Family Services. The former Marine with a master's degree in social work says he wants to restore public confidence in a system plagued by financial problems, high staff turnover and a failure to place many children in permanent homes. Lawmakers approved a series of child welfare reforms this year. But family advocates say the state still needs to reduce the number of children who are taken from their homes and kept in foster care. [...]
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Hastings city council passes the conditional use permit for The Living Center Project, a transitional home for homeless students in an 8-0 vote. More than 50 people showed up to hear the council's decision with nearly 20 people testifying about the project both for and against. The major concerns for one resident were: 1) what the program for youth consisted of and 2) where funding would come from. Currently, the program has secured one grant for $943,000 but that money can only be used on building refurbishment. The topic of sustainability was on the mind of Councilman Phil Odom, but he was quick to point out although it is a concern, it may not be his concern in regards to the conditional use permit. TLC hopes to secure an additional $50,000 grant for operational costs in addition to roughly $32,000 they would secure in rental fees. [...]
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At the beginning of this year's session, leaders in the Legislature proclaimed it the year of the child. And four months after the session began, sweeping changes to the child welfare system have taken shape. Some of the most noticeable changes, eliminating privatization and the creation of the Nebraska Children's Commission. Senator Mike Gloor of Grand Island is proud of the work senators have been able to accomplish this session. Although the new laws haven't had time to create intended changes, some of them are already making their mark. "I'm very satisfied with what's occurred during the session, surprised in fact given how much there was that we wanted to try and get approved," said Senator Gloor. [...]
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At the beginning of this year's session, leaders in the Legislature proclaimed it the "Year of the Child." But the emphasis on improving the state's struggling child welfare system reached beyond legislators and the host of new laws passed toward the end of the session. Those laws haven't had time to create intended changes, but change already is making its mark. Lead contractor KVC-Nebraska stepped away from its contract and handed child welfare case management back to the state as of March 1. That made a big impact in Lincoln and the southeast service area, as the state took over the work for the 4,700 children and their families who KVC served in 19 counties. The transition apparently has gone well, unlike similar transitions when previous lead contracts with Visinet and Boys and Girls Home ended. The state is down to one lead contractor in the Omaha area, after beginning 2010 with five. [...]
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LINCOLN — Small, neat letters in the corner of Thomas Pristow's office whiteboard spell out his to-do list for the next several months. Policy rewrite. Organizational redesign. Staff site visits. Rate restructure. The list goes on. But the much bigger task facing the man now in charge of Nebraska's child welfare and economic assistance programs will be rebuilding public confidence by reforming the embattled state agency, say state officials and community advocates. "Restoring confidence is essential to all those other tasks," said Carolyn Rooker, the head of Voices for Children in Nebraska. "To do that, he has to be willing to challenge the status quo." [...]
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LINCOLN — Gov. Dave Heineman signed several bills Wednesday aimed at fixing the state's child welfare system while praising the Legislature's work on the issue. "These bills represent an important step forward as we continue to reform child welfare to better serve the citizens of Nebraska," he said. Kerry Winterer, CEO of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said the bills will help the department deal with child welfare services by involving more people in the system. "The world of child welfare in Nebraska is changing because of this legislation," he said. The bills, passed last week, address problems brought to the fore during the state's tumultuous 2½-year experiment with privatizing child welfare. Heineman's administration began the privatization effort in November 2009 to improve the care of abused and neglected children and reduce the numbers of children in state care. [...]
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