Court Improvement Project (CIP) Director, Deb VanDyke-Ries and Lakeisha Phelps, recipient of the CIP 2019 Resilience Award, presented at last year’s CIP Children’s Summit, joined podcast host and Nebraska Juvenile Justice Association vice president, Rico Zavala on the latest Nebraska Juvenile Justice Association podcast “Juvenile Justice in Nebraska.”

Phelps currently serves as the Youth Advocate for the Nebraska Family Support Network. She was nominated for the 2019 CIP Resiliency Award by Margaret Vacek, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at Boys Town. The award seeks to recognize a youth or family involved with either the child welfare or youth justice system who has shown resilience and determination in overcoming difficult obstacles.

Ms. Phelps described her personal story and struggles as a youth involved in both systems along with her journey to success. 

VanDyke-Ries discussed CIP goals and directives and how COVID-19 has affected the projects this year. She also previewed this year’s CIP Conference, “Seeing the Youth, Action through Perceived Options,” to be held September 28, 2020, at UNL Innovation Campus. The event will be a hybrid of both virtual, live-streaming, and in-person. The conference program will be presented by Lisa Thurau, Executive Director of Strategies for Youth. The conference will also include presentations by psychologists, law enforcement, and education professionals from the state and each local area. Stakeholders can expect to understand and learn to identify underlying issues related to trauma and adolescent development, to meet youth where they are, and build relationships for positive outcomes.

You can listen to the NJJA podcast here: https://www.njja.org/home/podcasts/