Please join CIP, along with other youth justice experts for an overview webinar regarding Title II and the 11(B) exception for youth charged as adults.
Click here to register via Zoom.
The Title II Formula Grant Program, authorized under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), supports state and local officials efforts to prevent juvenile delinquency and improve the juvenile justice system. One of the core requirements of Title II is the sight and sound separation of juveniles from adult inmates in jails and lockups. While a youth is being detained, they must be sight and sound separated from any adult inmates.
However, an exception—known as the 11(b) exception—permits juveniles charged or tried as adults to be held in adult facilities under specific conditions. The youth must first meet the statutory requirements to be charged as an adult. Next to meet the requirements of this exception and ensure it is in the interest of justice, the court must: consider all statutory factors listed by the JJDPA, document those considerations in the record, determine whether sight and sound separation should continue, and conduct periodic review hearings that are required while the youth is being held in adult jail or lock ups.
This process helps protect youth while allowing flexibility in cases involving serious charges.
Presenters
John Turner, Nebraska Crime Commission
John Turner is the Youth Justice and Disparities Coordinator at the Nebraska Crime Commission. John has been serving as a Juvenile Justice Specialist since November 2024, overseeing the Title II Formula Program and the Delinquency Prevention Grant at the Nebraska Crime Commission. Before joining the Crime Commission, John worked as a Training Specialist I at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center on Children, Families, and the Law. In this role, he trained new hires at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in the initial assessment process. Prior to that, he worked as an Initial Assessment Worker for DHHS, conducting safety assessments on new intakes and addressing household needs where applicable. John’s experience also includes working as a Social Worker III for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), where he focused on status offenders and truancy issues among teens. Additionally, he served as a Counselor I at Middle Creek Secure Sex Offender Program in Latrobe, PA, working with adjudicated teens charged with sexual offenses who were placed in secure detention. John holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Erin Wasserburger, Nebraska Crime Commission
Erin Wasserburger is the Deputy Director of Youth Programs at the Nebraska Crime Commission. Erin has been involved with the Community-based Aid Juvenile Services state grants for the past eight years, moving into her position overseeing the state grants at Nebraska Crime Commission two years ago. Erin, also, oversees the OJJDP Title II Formula Grant award granted to the State of Nebraska. Prior to being employed at the Crime Commission, Erin worked for the University of Nebraska – Omaha’s (UNO) Juvenile Justice Institute, assisting with the evaluation of Community-based Aid Juvenile Services state grant programs. Erin previously worked in direct care, supporting youth and families with both legal and child welfare system involvement. Erin has a bachelor’s degree from Chadron State College in Criminal Justice with a Juvenile Justice Emphasis and is currently working on her master’s degree in criminology with a Public Administration concentration through UNO.
Judge Denise Kracl, Platte County Court
Denise Kracl graduated in 1993 with an associate’s degree from Central Community College, Columbus Campus. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education, cum laude, from Wayne State College and later a Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota School of Law.
Her early career included working for the Governor of Nebraska, serving as a probation officer, and working as a Resident Hall Director at CCC’s Hastings Campus. After law school, she returned to Columbus and practiced at the all-female firm Knoepfle and Kracl, handling family law, criminal defense, debt collection, real estate, and a criminal appeal that freed a man sentenced to over 10 years.
Denise became Deputy County Attorney in Colfax and Butler Counties and was appointed Colfax County Attorney in 2010. She was re-elected for two terms, serving through 2022. In that role, she handled grand juries, a murder investigation, and acted as special prosecutor in a misconduct case. She also served as President and Secretary of the Northeast Nebraska Human Trafficking Taskforce, President of the Northeast Nebraska Mediation Center Board, and was a member of Schuyler Community Development. Governor appointments included the Nebraska Coalition of Juvenile Justice and the County Attorney Standards Advisory Council. Denise also taught American Government as a CCC adjunct faculty member.
Her honors include the 2021 Nebraska Bar Association Award of Appreciation, 2018 CCC Distinguished Alumni Award, 2018 Schuyler Sertoma Service to Mankind Award, 2017 NJJA Excellence in Leadership Award, and 2017 Schuyler Chamber Citizen/Organization of the Year.
In 2022, Denise was appointed County Court Judge in the Fifth Judicial District by Governor Pete Ricketts. Though the district covers 11 counties, she primarily serves Platte County, handling juvenile and probate cases, protection orders, bond hearings, adoptions, search warrants, traffic offenses, and serving as backup Problem Solving Court Judge.
Denise was born in Columbus and raised on the CCC campus, where her mother, Twila Wallace, taught from its opening in 1969 until retiring in 2010 after 41 years.