The Nebraska Court Improvement Project (CIP) hosted their annual conference as a hybrid in-person and virtual event in September. CIP held the 2021 Regional Conferences in Ogallala and Omaha, and live-streamed the Omaha event, so that everyone across the state could benefit from the education and speakers. Judge Randin Roland, co-chair of the Through the Eyes of the Child initiative opened the conference in Ogallala, and Judge Roger Heideman, also co-chair of the initiative, welcomed attendees virtually in Omaha.

The theme was “Seizing Opportunity, Leveraging Technology, Improving Outcomes” with keynote addresses from Teri Deal, M.Ed., National Center for State Courts, and Cynthia Burnson, Ph.D., Evident Change. The conference included discussion panels of both youth and families with lived experience in the court system.

Teri Deal’s keynote address outlined the Virtual Hearing Study conducted by the National Center for State Courts. The study identifies and describes the experience of families and court professionals in virtual hearings in terms of perceptions of fairness, access to technology, and high-quality legal representation. The study’s goal is to explore how key aspects of quality hearings can be implemented in the virtual environment.

Dr. Cynthia Burnson delivered the afternoon keynote, “Sci­ence-Driven Strategies for Successful Virtual Interaction With Children.” Evident Change is a nonprofit that uses data and research to improve child welfare, juvenile and adult justice, and adult pro­tective services systems. At Evident Change, Dr. Burnson works with child welfare systems to improve decision-making, use data for systems improve­ment, and evaluate interventions.

The Omaha event was recorded and can be seen here in its entirety.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXNrkfK93bZXONsq6TZsdVUBZJl-2nsty