Juvenile Justice Institute

We had a great time presenting at the Nebraska Juvenile Justice Association Conference this week!

Yesterday, Monica Miles-Steffens, JJI Assistant Director, presented alongside partners from JBS International and youth-serving partners in Douglas and York Counties on: “Building Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success in Nebraska.”

Today, JJI Director Kristan Russell also presented with Heather Perez (Michigan State University) and Ryan Spohn (Nebraska Center for Justice Research) on: “From Knowledge to Impact: Juvenile Justice Training, Research, and Evaluation Resources.”

Thank you to everyone who attended our sessions, asked thoughtful questions, and stopped by our booth to connect with our team throughout the conference.

Reminder: our PowerPoints and all session resources are available through the NJJA conference portal for anyone who would like to access the materials.

Congratulations to the 2025-2026 Juvenile Justice Certificate participants who received their certificates at the Nebraska Juvenile Justice Association Conference today! We wish you all the best as you continue to make a positive impact in the lives of the youth and families you serve.

The Juvenile Justice Institute team is excited to be at the Nebraska Juvenile Justice Association conference this week! Four members of our team are here and we are enjoying connecting with practitioners, partners, and colleagues from across the state.

If you haven’t stopped by our exhibitor table yet, come say hello! We have plenty of JJI swag, resources, and information about the services we offer - including research partnerships, program evaluation, training and technical assistance, and other ways we can support youth-serving organizations and systems.

It was a pleasure connecting with attendees on Day 2 at the Heartland Juvenile Services Association (HJSA) conference. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to learn more about the Juvenile Justice Institute!

We’ve had an incredible experience Day 1 at the Heartland Juvenile Services Association (HJSA) Conference!

As exhibitors, it’s been energizing to connect with so many dedicated professionals across the region. We’re walking away with meaningful conversations, new relationships, and a lot of excitement about future partnerships—especially opportunities to expand training and support for practitioners across Nebraska.

A highlight of the conference was our director, Dr. Kristan Russell’s breakout session, “Understanding Youth Who Sexually Harm: Trends, Adolescent Development, and Best Practices.” The turnout was fantastic, and we truly appreciated the thoughtful questions and level of engagement from attendees. It’s clear there is a strong commitment to learning and improving practice in this space.

We were also glad to have Kim Trost, JJI’s Project Coordinator, representing our team at the exhibitor table today and helping foster many of these valuable connections.

Grateful to be part of such an impactful event and looking forward to Day 2!

This amazing class finished the Foundations of Restorative Justice Practices Certificate yesterday. They will be carrying these tools back to their non-profits, diversion programs, and UNO agencies. Be on the lookout for our next class in the fall or contact us if you would like us to bring this training to your organization!

The Juvenile Justice Certificate Program participants completed the motivational interviewing portion of the program this week and got their certificates from trainer Brenda Sanders. Thank you Brenda for such great training! And the Restorative Justice Practices group took advantage of the nice weather yesterday with practicing circles outside!

Congratulations Maddie! Thank you for sharing your story and being a part of JJI for the past several years. You bring inspiration to us and each certificate class you have helped to lead. We can’t wait to see where your journey takes you next!

A leading voice in the community: UNO communications student dedicates herself to child welfare advocacy after time as Boys Town mayor A communications student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha has been a leading voice in the community since her past term as mayor of Boys Town in May of 2021, now dedicating herself to child welfare advocacy at UNO’s Juvenile Justice Institute.

This week, the Juvenile Justice Institute was proud to be represented at the American Psychology–Law Society conference by our Director, Dr. Kristan Russell, and Research Specialist, Dr. Mariah Sorby.

It was inspiring to see the breadth of innovative research and practice-focused work happening across the juvenile justice field. The conference highlighted the many ways scholars and practitioners are working to improve outcomes for young people.

We also made some fantastic new connections and are excited about the potential for future collaborations.

If you connected with us at the conference, or are interested in collaborating around juvenile justice research and data-informed policy and practice - we’d love to stay in touch!

Dr. Russell - [email protected]

This week JJI Assistant Director, Monica Miles-Steffens joined other JBS International team members in providing technical assistance to OJJDP Continuum of Care planning grant grantees in Boston and Rhode Island. These sites are developing strategies and collaborative initiatives to advance systems change in their sites.