Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative

September 9 - 11, 2009, Grand Island, Nebraska, Holiday Inn Midtown

Chief Justice Michael Heavican and the Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative hosted Nebraska's second statewide Children's Summit in September 2009. A follow-up to the 2006 Nebraska Children's Summit in Nebraska City, the 2009 Children's Summit was attended by over 400 professionals involved in the abuse/neglect court system, including all Nebraska judges with juvenile jurisdiction, Chief Justice Heavican, Governor Dave Heineman, Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy and former ACYF Commissioner Joan Ohl. Participants voted on priorities for the Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative to focus on in upcoming years. The selected priorities are: (1) reduce the time to reunification (for reunified children), (2) improve systems effectiveness with parents with substance abuse issues, and (3) improve the use of parenting time to improve permanency.

Video: Through their Eyes: A View from Nebraska's Foster Youth

Agenda

Biographies

Case Progression and Court Improvement Data Reports

2009 Nebraska Children's Summit in the November/December 2009 Nebraska Lawyer Magazine.

Children Attending Court

Videos

1. Role and Responsibility of a GAL Andrea Khoury
   (Material: 1)
2. Nuts and Bolts Issues Andrea Khoury
   (Material: 1)
3. Children Attending Court Discussion
   (No Material)
4. Impact of Children's Participation in Review Hearings Vicky Weisz and Sarah Beal
   (Material: 1)
5. Role of the Judge When Children Attend Court Andrea Khoury
   (Material: 1)

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Videos

1. A Key to Achieving Timely Permanency in Child Protection Matters Judge Denise Navarre Cubbon
   (No Material)
2. Facilitated TPR Settlement Conference Debora Brownyard, J.D. and Debra Blue
   (Material: 1)
3. ADR -PHC, FTM, FGC, CDM Acronyms Debora Brownyard
   (Material: 1)
4. Best Practice in Lucas County Denise Cubbon
   (Material: 1)
5. Increasing the Family's Voice Carol Dart and Lori McKeon
   (Material: 1)

Reasonable Efforts

Videos

1. The Golden Rule of Reasonable Efforts: Aspirational or Definitive Judge R. Michael Key
   (Material: 1)
2. Judicial Direction and Oversight under Child Welfare Privatization: The Kansas Experience Discussion
   (No Material)
3. Reasonable Efforts & Judicial Authority Judge R. Michael Key
   (No Material)
4. Reasonable Efforts for Infants and Toddlers Judge Douglas Johnson
   (Material: 1)
5. What are Active Efforts in NE Terri Yellowhammer
   (Material: 1)
6. Interaction between Reasonable Efforts, Aggravated Circumstances, and Termination of Parental Rights Alicia Henderson
   (Material: 1)

Parenting Time

Videos

1. Planned Therapeutic Intervention Norma Ginther
   (Material: 1)
2. Assessing Parent-Child Attachment Norma Ginther
   (Material: 1)
3. Family Interaction: Nuts and Bolts/Tools and Forms Norma Ginther
   (Material: 1)
4. Nebraska Supreme Court Commission Recommended Guidelines on Parenting Time Judge Linda Senff
   (No Material)
5. The Grand Island Experience - A Community Focus on Parenting Time KaCee Zimmerman, John Sellers
   (No Material)

Permanency Hearings

Videos

1. The Foundations for Timely Permanency Norma Ginther
   (Material: 1 2)
2. Meaningful Permanency Hearing Retired Judge Joanne Brown
   (Material: 1)
3. How is a Permanency Hearing Different than a Review Hearing Judge Linda Porter
   (Material: 1)
4. Importance of Paternal and Paternal Kin Milton Scott and Howard Davidson
   (Material: 1)
5. Case Progression Timeline Judge Douglas Johnson
   (Material: 1)
6. Use of Pre-Hearing Conferences at the Permanency Hearing Stage Judge Randin Roland, Ceri Artzer, J. Leef
   (Material: 1)

Fostering Connections

Videos

1. The Golden Rule of Reasonable Efforts: Aspirational or Definitive? Howard Davidson
   (Material: 1)