Personal Information

Vicky is married to Alan Tomkins and they have two young adult children, Stefanie and Mike. Vicky enjoys travel, food (both cooking and eating) and wine, as well as reading, watching movies, and walking.

Education

• University of Rochester, 1975, B.A. (Psychology)
• Washington University, 1980. M.A. (Psychology)
• Washington University, 1981. Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology)
• University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 1994. M.L.S. (Masters in Legal Studies)

Areas of Interest

• Child maltreatment
• Court and legal systems
• Juvenile justice
• Legal decision making
• Children's rights
• Child bone marrow donors
• Child and adolescent mental health

Professional Activities & Community Service

• Cluster Representative (and Cluster Chair), 2003 American Psychology Association Annual Convention, Division of Child, Youth, & Family Services
• Program Chair, 2002 American Psychology Association Annual Convention, Division of Child, Youth, & Family Services
• Graduate Faculty Fellow, Psychology Department, University of Nebraska Lincoln
• Institutional Review Board Unit Review Committee, University of Nebraska Lincoln
• Permanency Planning Task Force, Governor’s Commission for the Protection of Children
• Lancaster County Violence Against Women Strategic Planning Process

CCFL Projects

• Nebraska Court Improvement Project: The Court Improvement Project uses federal funds made available through a contract with the Supreme Court of Nebraska. This project is aimed at improving the functioning of the state court system in responding to cases involving children who have been abused or neglected or who are in foster care. Director.
• Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative This initiative, funded by the Court Improvement Project, is aimed at improving permanency for Nebraska children in foster care through local judge-led multidisciplinary teams that are working together to incorporate best practices into their systems. There are twenty-five teams across the state.
• Nebraska Supreme Court Commission on Children in the Courts The Nebraska Supreme Court on Children in the Courts was formed in January, 2005, to study the way Nebraska courts impact children and youth who come before the courts or who are otherwise affected by the courts. Further, the Commission was directed to make recommendations that would improve the courts work with children and youth. Family Impact Seminars. Staff.
• Nebraska Family Impact Seminars The Nebraska Family Impact Seminars are annual seminars, briefing materials, and follow-up activities for state policymakers such as legislators, legislative aides, and state agency representatives. The seminars provide educational research based information and are designed to bring a family perspective to policymaking. Director.

Selected Projects/Publications

• Brank, E., Hays, S., & Weisz, V. (2006). All parents are to blame (except this one): Global and specific attitudes toward parental responsibility laws. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36, 2670-2684.
• Wilcox, B., Weisz, V., & Miller, M. (2005). Practical guidelines for educating policy makers: The Family Impact Seminar as an approach to advancing the interests of children and families in the policy arena. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34, 638-645.
• Brank, E. & Weisz, V. (2004). Paying for the crimes of their children: Public support of parental responsibility. Journal of Criminal Justice, 32, 465-476.
• Ells, M., O'Neal, R., Weisz, V., & Conner, J. (2004). Unraveling the labyrinth: A proposed revision of the Nebraska Juvenile Code. Nebraska Law Review, 82, 1126-1275.
• Weisz, V. (2003). Foster Care. In T.H. Ollendick & C.S. Schroeder (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Clinical Child and Pediatric Psychology (pp. 246-249). New York: Kluwer Press.
• Williams, A. & Weisz, V. (2003). Preliminary results from the Nebraska Family Group Conferencing evaluation. Protecting Children, 18, 90-92.
• Weisz, V. & Thai, N. (2003). The Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program: Bringing information to child abuse and neglect cases. Child Maltreatment, 8, 204-210.
• Weisz, V., Lott, R., & Thai, N. (2002). A teen court evaluation with a therapeutic jurisprudence perspective. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 20, 381-392.
• Pagliocca, P., Melton, G.B., Lyons, .M., & Weisz, V. (2002). Parenting and the law. In M..H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting, Vol.5 (2nd ed.) (pp. 463-485) Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum
• Brank, E.M., Williams, A. L, Weisz, V., & Ray, R.E. (2001). Parental compliance: It’s role in Termination of Parental Rights cases. Nebraska Law Review, 80, 335-353.
• Weisz, V., & Robbennolt, J. K. (1996). Risks and benefits of pediatric bone marrow donation: A critical need for research. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 14, 375-91.
• Murphy-Berman, V., & Weisz, V. (1996). The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child: Current challenges. American Psychologist, 51, 1231-33.