Nebraska Court Improvement Project

Using federal funding made available through a contract with the Supreme Court of Nebraska, this project is designed to improve the functioning of the state court system in responding to cases involving children who have been abused or neglected. This project began in 1995 and is expected to continue indefinitely. The Court Improvement Project is the umbrella for most of the Center on Children, Families and the Law's activities that focus on the judicial and legal system. These specific projects include:

• The Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative
• Project Safe Start - Nebraska
• The Supreme Court Commission on Children in the Courts
• Nebraska Guardian ad Litem Training

Publications

• Know Your Rights Guide for Youth in Nebraska's Foster Care System
• My Adventure Guide to Court! (for youth up to age 8)
• Ben and Emma Discover their Super Powers (for youth up to age 12)
• Guide for Foster Parents and Relative Caregivers: Understanding the Nebraska Juvenile Court Child Protection Process
• Guide for Parents: Walking Your Way Through the Nebraska Juvenile Court Child Protection Process

Past Projects

• Training - The CIP conducts training for judges, attorneys, and other child welfare stakeholders
• Case Progression and Court Improvement Data Reports
• Abuse/Neglect Caselaw Summaries
• Children in Court Study (Lancaster County)
• Pre-Hearing Conference Study
• 2005 Reassessment of Court and Legal System for Child Abuse and Neglect and Foster Care
• Nebraska Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) Report and Appendices.
• Family Group Conferencing
• Court-Agency Collaborations
• Revision of the Nebraska Juvenile Code, Mark Ells, J.D. (2001)
• CIP helped support publication of the RAP (Research Advancing Practice) Sheet, a quarterly publication that summarized findings from the social science literature regarding child protection and juvenile justice (1999-2004).