Children’s Justice Clinic & Children’s Justice Attorney Education

The Children’s Justice Clinic (CJC) is a partnership between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center on Children, Families, and the Law and Nebraska Law to train third-year law students to serve as guardians ad litem (GAL) in Nebraska’s Juvenile Court System through clinical education. The CJC, led by Director Michelle Paxton, J.D., delivers a holistic and experiential learning environment. Law students are educated and mentored by experts as they represent their child clients and interact with the social workers and mental health professionals involved in juvenile court cases. CCFL offers consultation with a multidisciplinary team of practitioners in psychology, child welfare, social work, and mental health. Law students participating in the CJC gain the specialized knowledge and skills needed to provide children with the high-quality representation and advocacy they deserve.

CJC Case Consultants

Children’s Justice Clinic

 

The Children’s Justice Attorney Education program (CJAE) was created by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center on Children, Families, and the Law and Nebraska Law. This innovative fellowship program provides extensive training, expert case consultation, and reflective practice to transform legal representation for vulnerable children across the state. Michelle Paxton, Director of the Children’s Justice Clinic (CJC) and the CJAE, developed the program based on the CJC’s successful approach, which provides comprehensive training to law students as they become Guardians ad Litem. Similarly, the attorney program improves the availability and quality of legal representation for children and families in rural communities, including underrepresented low-income, Latinx, and Indigenous populations. The CJAE partners with Legal Aid Nebraska to assist in program development and management. The CJAE works to educate and empower rural attorneys to become high-quality child welfare advocates across Nebraska.

CJAE Case Consultants

  • Laurel Johnson, Project Manager
  • Jennie Cole-Mossman, LIMHP
  • Sarah Dunham, LIMHP, LADC
  • Elizabeth Eynon-Kokrda, JD, MA
  • Misty Flowers, MA
  • Alicia Henderson, JD
  • Jill Holt, MSW, MPA
  • April Kirkendall, JD
  • Tom Maxson, LIMHP, LADC, SAP, MAC
  • Jordan McCoy, LIMHP
  • Lauren Micek Vargas, JD
  • Jen Rine, MS, LIMHP, PLADC
  • Jonathan Seagrass, JD

Children’s Justice Attorney Education program

People

  1. Avatar for Michelle Paxton
    Director of Children's Justice Clinic and Attorney Education Fellowship Program
  2. Avatar for Hannah Cook
    Associate Director
  3. Avatar for Megan Harris
    CJAE Project Manager/CJC Mental Health Consultant
  4. Avatar for Terra Garay
    Project Coordinator
  5. Avatar for Lori Miller
    Paralegal Assistant
  6. Avatar for Audine Oehm
    Lead Training Coordination Associate
  7. Avatar for Cheryl Turner
    Training Specialist II
  8. Avatar for Barbara Sturgis
    Emeritus Research Assistant Professor
  9. Avatar for Krista Roebke
    Training Manager
  10. Avatar for Amy Peters
    Affiliate Researcher
  11. Avatar for Lindsey Ondrak
    Early Childhood Outreach and Training Specialist
  12. Avatar for Jamie Bahm
    Assistant Project Director
  13. Avatar for Tracey Kock
    Project Manager
  14. Avatar for Christine Henningsen
    Associate Director; Project Director
  15. Avatar for Samantha Byrns
    Assistant Project Director
  16. Graduate Research Assistant
  17. Avatar for Angela Gebhardt
    YHSI Lived Experience Coordinator