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The Child Welfare Workforce Crisis – What We’Re Hearing From The Field, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) and the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) in collaboration with the Capacity Building Centers for States, Tribes, and Courts, recently worked with representatives of the Children’s Bureau to listen to concerns of state child welfare and human resources (HR) leaders about the child welfare workforce. This blog post highlights what leaders (representing 29 states) described as their biggest concerns and what strategies agencies have put in place to reduce turnover and improve the applicant pool. We have also included links to information about evidence-informed efforts that could help jurisdictions address some …

How Can Child Welfare Agencies Leverage Data To Address Important Workforce Questions?, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

QIC-Tips

Child welfare agencies experience workforce turnover (14-20% annually) that can be costly and result in poorer outcomes for children and families. Although turnover is often acknowledged as a significant problem, it is not one that is easily understood or addressed. The following tips and strategies being implemented by jurisdictions working with the QIC-WD may be helpful for child welfare administrators, legislators, and other policymakers seeking to utilize agency data to answer pertinent child welfare workforce questions.

• Understand what data is collected and stored, and where. Oftentimes, there are multiple systems used by agencies during the employee lifecycle that may contain …

Social Worker Shortages And The Rise In Competition For A Competent Child Welfare Workforce, Anita Barbee

Other QIC-WD Products

Several national studies have been conducted over the past few years (e.g. Hooyman, & Uniitzer, 2011; Lin, Lin, & Zhang, 2016) to project the number of social workers that will be needed by the year 2030. What they all point to is a huge deficit in the number of social workers (upwards of 200,000) needed to care for children, the elderly and those with addictions, mental health, and other health issues. However, those estimates may be low given that as of 2018 there was no regular gathering of comprehensive data on workforce needs in such areas as child welfare, juvenile …

Picturing Teacher Agency: Developing Upstanding Heuristics In A Middle Grades Social Studies Methods Course, Jennifer L. Gallagher, Jennifer Farley

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

This paper presents a multi-case study of teacher candidates in a pre-service middle grades social studies methods course. The study aimed to understand how middle grades teacher candidates viewed their future as upstanders with agency in middle grades settings. The focus of the research was on heuristic representations that the teacher candidates created to illustrate how they understood their role in supporting the democratic aims of middle grades social studies. Qualitative data was collected and analyzed through chordal triad of agency theory (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998). The findings indicate that preservice teachers best understand their future as change agents through …

Mandatory Minimum Penalties: An Analysis Of Four State’S Penal Codes And Federal Court Policies, Cassie Geiken

Honors Theses

In Nebraska, variations of bills attempting to amend mandatory minimum laws in the state have been introduced. The harshness of the mandatory sentences, as well as the looming state of emergency caused by prison overcrowding, have sustained the debate over sentencing laws. This essay identifies the core issues of mandatory minimum sentencing laws and analyzes the states of Nebraska, Texas, Alabama, California, and the federal system’s use of mandatory minimums for felony charges to identify potential solutions. Statute review found that Nebraska’s current sentencing codes are misaligned with the rest of the nation; not even Alabama with one of the …

Disrupting Narrow Conceptions Of Justice: Exploring And Expanding "Bullying" And "Upstanding" In A University Honors Course, Jennifer Farley, Jennifer Gallagher, Katherine Richardson Bruna

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The term "upstanding" encompasses actions and behaviors grounded in one’s defense of their own beliefs and others. While such broad application of the term has merit, from a critical education perspective it lacks direction. To efficaciously address injustice, upstanding action must go beyond one’s beliefs. A directional application of upstanding behavior, or the notion of "upstanding for justice," frames upstanding as action to address chronic social victimization via systems of oppression. In this article, we describe the development of a new heuristic to support students’ understanding of upstanding and detail the university honors course in which we used the heuristic …

College Students Reporting Responses To Hypothetical And Actual Safety Concerns, Brandon A. Hollister, Mario Scalora, Sarah M. Hoff, Heath J. Hodges, Alissa Marquez

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Campus violence prevention often includes proactively reducing crime through noticing and resolving concerning situations. Within these efforts, interventions aimed at enhancing reporting have been considered necessary. The current study explored several reporting influences on college students’ responses to hypothetical and actual campus safety concerns. Students were unwilling to report most (i.e., 52%) vignettes of pathway behavior, and most students who witnessed campus safety concerns did not report (i.e., 87%). Students who witnessed several concerning behaviors from a nonfriend perpetrator tended to be more willing to report, especially if personally victimized and understanding the violence risk associated with pathway behavior. Analyses …

On The Influence Of Trust In Predicting Rural Land Owner Cooperation With Natural Resource Management Institutions, Joseph A. Hamm, Lesa R. Hoffman, Alan Tomkins, Brian H. Bornstein

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Contemporary natural resource management (NRM) emphasizes the role of the public in general and land owners in particular as voluntary participants in the process. Understanding the role of trust in voluntary cooperation is therefore critical, but the current state of the relevant literature is such that it fails to systematically address a few important issues. This inquiry sought to address these issues by presenting and testing a model of land owners’ trust in and cooperation with a NRM institution. The model hypothesizes that the six major drivers of trust in this context (dispositional trust, care, competence, confidence, procedural fairness and …

Exposure To Pre-Incident Behavior And Reporting In College Students, Mario Scalora, Brandon A. Hollister, Sarah Hoff, Alissa Marquez

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Campus targeted violence is preceded by noticeable, alarming behavior, and reporting improvement efforts have been suggested to increase students’ willingness to inform campus authorities of forewarning actions. Reporting improvement techniques have been most successful with material appealing to the perceptions of high-risk students (i.e., those likely to observe and not report). The current study examined the characteristics of students that view threatening behavior and lack willingness to report with a large, Midwestern, undergraduate sample (n 450). Approximately 35% of the sample (i.e., n 157) indicated observing pre-incident behavior on campus, and 65% of these individuals (i.e., n 101) described unwillingness …

Reducing Courts’ Failure-To-Appear Rate By Written Reminders, Brian H. Bornstein, Alan Tomkins, Elizabeth Neeley, Mitchel Herian, Joseph A. Hamm

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This article examines the effectiveness of using different kinds of written reminders to reduce misdemeanor defendants’ failure- to-appear (FTA) rates. A subset of defendants was surveyed after their scheduled court date to assess their perceptions of procedural justice and trust and confidence in the courts. Reminders reduced FTA overall, and more substantive reminders (e.g., with information on the negative consequences of FTA) were more effective than a simple reminder. FTA varied depending on several offense and offender characteristics, such as geographic location (urban vs. rural), type of offense, and number of offenses. The reminders were somewhat more effective for Whites …

Factor Structure And Construct Validity Of The Psychopathic Personality Inventory In A Forensic Sample, Valerie M. Gonsalves, Julia E. Mclawsen, Matthew T. Huss, Mario J. Scalora

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

A wealth of research has underscored the strong relationship between PCL-R scores and recidivism. However, mounting criticism cites the PCL-R's cumbersome administration procedures and failure to adequately measure core features associated with the construct of psychopathy (Skeem, Polaschek, Patrick, & Lilienfeld, 2011). In light of these concerns, this study examined the PPI and the PPI-R, which were designed to measure core personality features associated with psychopathy (Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996; Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005). Study one examined the PPI relative to the PCL-R and examined its factor structure. The instruments shared few significant correlations and neither the PCL-R nor the …

Risk And Protective Factors For Recidivism Among Juveniles Who Have Offended Sexually, Andrew Spice, Jodi L. Viljoen, Natasha Elkovitch, Mario J. Scalora, Daniel Lee Ullman

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Literature on risk factors for recidivism among juveniles who have sexually offended (JSOs) is limited. In addition, there have been no studies published concerning protective factors among this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of risk and protective factors to sexual and nonsexual recidivism among a sample of 193 male JSOs (mean age = 15.26). Youths were followed for an average of 7.24 years following discharge from a residential sex offender treatment program. The risk factor opportunities to reoffend, as coded based on the Estimate of Risk of Adolescent Sexual Offense Recidivism, was associated with …

Reducing Courts’ Failure-To-Appear Rate By Written Reminders, Brian H. Bornstein, Alan J. Tomkins, Elizabeth M. Neeley, Mitchel N. Herian, Joseph A. Hamm

Alan Tomkins Publications

This article examines the effectiveness of using different kinds of written reminders to reduce misdemeanor defendants’ failure-to-appear (FTA) rates. A subset of defendants was surveyed after their scheduled court date to assess their perceptions of procedural justice and trust and confidence in the courts. Reminders reduced FTA overall, and more substantive reminders (e.g., with information on the negative consequences of FTA) were more effective than a simple reminder. FTA varied depending on several offense and offender characteristics, such as geographic location (urban vs. rural), type of offense, and number of offenses. The reminders were somewhat more effective for Whites and …

The Nebraska Minority And Justice Task Force Final Report

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

In the report that follows, the Nebraska Minority and Justice Task Force finds that minorities are overrepresented as defendants in the criminal and juvenile justice system; minorities are underrepresented in Nebraska’s legal profession and as court employees and jurors; and a substantial portion of the responding public, Nebraska lawyers, and court personnel perceive that bias exists in the Nebraska justice system.

The Task Force concludes that the data available prevent a complete analysis of the under and overrepresentation of minorities and that the findings do not prove or disprove systemic discrimination in the Nebraska justice system based on race and …

Faith-Based Organizations In A System Of Behavioral Health Care, Mark Dekraai, Denise Bulling, Nancy C. Shank, Alan J. Tomkins

Nancy Shank Publications

Through community service activities, and ministries to members within their congregations, faith communities will encounter individuals with behavioral health needs. This article suggests that faith communities have inherent resources that can enhance the reach and effectiveness of behavioral health systems. A framework is presented that will create a bridge of understanding about how behavioral health can leverage faith organization assets and how faith organizations can actively assist adults, children and families with behavioral health needs within the context of their faith and their community.

Expanded Learning Opportunities Updated Fund Mapping 2010, Teri Perkins, Nancy Shank, Jeff Cole

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

In January 2008, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman hosted the Governor’s Summit for Expanded Learning Opportunities. The Summit explored collaborative efforts of schools and community leaders to create expanded learning opportunities for Nebraska’s children and youth. Following the event, Governor Heineman asked the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation and the Nebraska Community Learning Centers Network to map funding for expanded learning opportunities in Nebraska.

Fund mapping ties into the long term goal of the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation and the Nebraska Community Learning Centers Network to promote greater efficiencies through increased coordination, advocate for additional support for projects that meet …

Understanding Human Services Utilization: Opportunities For Data Sharing Between Federally Funded Programs, Nancy C. Shank

Nancy Shank Publications

In communities across the United States, social service clients face uncoordinated systems of care and delays in services when their information cannot easily be shared among providers. Social service agencies face challenges in sharing information on clients and services between disparate information systems and inefficiencies when multiple, stand-alone systems are used to satisfy operational, funding, or reporting requirements.

This cataloging project arose from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) interest to document standards that may be of relevance to its community partners, particularly those partners working to support local homeless, housing, and community development activities and build …

Nebraska Community Learning Center Network: Expanded Learning Opportunity Fund Mapping Project, Mitchel Herian, Nancy Shank

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Table of Contents:

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
A Note on Terminology and Population
Fund Mapping Challenges
Approach and Presentation
Fund Mapping Results
Current Funding
Survey of Nebraska Funding Sources
Summary of Federal Funding Programs
Early Childhood Care
Survey of Nebraska Afterschool Programs
Federal Funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers
Nebraska Crime Commission
Parental Involvement
Potential Funding
Summary of Federal Programs
Discussion of 2008 Survey of Funding Sources
Future Directions and Conclusion

Appendices

Appendix A - Summer 2008 Survey of Organizations that Fund Expanded Learning Opportunities
Appendix B - Potential Federal Programs for Expanded Learning Opportunities
Appendix C - …

Lancaster County Public Defender Workload Assessment July 2008, Elizabeth Neeley

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Executive Summary

Workload
The Lancaster County Public Defender's Office was short approximately 3.48 attorneys in 2007.

• The greatest deficit is in the felony division (1.93 PTE), followed by the misdemeanor division (.90). The juvenile division is short approximately one half an attorney (.53 PTE), and the civil division is short .12 PTE.

This deficit can be addressed by:
• Adequately staffing the office;
OR
• Giving the office less work by:
• Establishing Caseload Standards. Cases surpassing the recommended caseload standards should be appointed to privately assigned counsel.

• Reassessing crimes which receive jail time (rethinking the crimes for …

Human Services Data Standards: Current Progress And Future Vision In Crisis Response, Nancy C. Shank, Brian Sokol, Michelle L. Hayes, Christina Vetrano

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Interorganizational coordination is crucial among human services providers responsible for responding to both personal and widespread crises. Too often, however, agencies providing disaster relief, shelter, and connection to other social service systems operate in information silos. Moreover, organizations that assist the same people may be duplicating services or ineffectively providing services to those in need. In the past, there has been no easy way for human service organizations to share information about clients, resources, and services. Over the last decade, distinct initiatives have begun to standardize data collection, storage, and transmission standards within human service domains. This paper describes several …

Nebraska Gamblers Assistance Program Biennial Report Fiscal Years 2006-2007

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Table of Contents:

History of the GAP
Mission, Goals and Principles of the GAP
Service Components of the GAP
Work Force Development
Certification
Contract Management
Helpline
Voucher Program
Treatment
Increasing Demand
Monitoring Outcomes
Expenditures
Funding
Administration
The GAP’s Historical Administrative and Legislative Landmarks
Strategic Planning
Expansion of the GAP
Accomplishments
Program Evaluation
Focus Groups and Interviews
Helpline Data
Consumer Survey
Magellan Data Analysis
Cost Analysis Clinical Treatment
Magellan System and NOMs
APPENDIX A DHHS Administrative Contact Personnel
APPENDIX B State Advisory Committee on Problem Gambling
APPENDIX C Organizations Involved In Problem Gambling
APPENDIX D List of Providers - Prevention
APPENDIX …

Evaluation Of Nebraska’S Probation Problem Solving Courts

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Eight Nebraska problem solving courts were examined for this evaluation: three adult drug courts, four juvenile drug courts, and one young adult problem solving court. The key questions intended to be addressed through this evaluation included the following:

1. To what extent do problem-solving courts serve appropriate persons, specifically in relation to risk classification?

2. How do the demographic characteristics of participants compare to the general population and other offenders?

3. To what extent do policies and procedures adhere to the proposed problem solving court rules

4. How do policies and procedures compare across courts?

5. What are possible areas …

Constructs Of Justice: Beyond Civil Litigation, Alan Tomkins, Kimberly Applequist

Alan Tomkins Publications

It is the case that civil justice problems constitute the bulk of courts’ work in both the state and federal legal systems (see, e.g., Court Statistics Project, 2006; U.S. Courts, 2007). Nevertheless, a decision rendered by a jury (or a judge) takes place in only a relatively small percentage of civil disputes. There are exponentially more civil disputes resolved outside of court than are resolved via jury verdicts (see, e.g., Galanter, 1983, 1993, 1996; Miller & Sarat, 1980–1981; Trubek, Grossman, Felstiner, Kritzer, & Sarat, 1983), a state of affairs true for the UK as well as the US (Pleasence, 2006). …

Report To The Nebraska Supreme Court On Indigent Defense Systems And Fee Structures, Nebraska Minority Justice Committee

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

On May 18, 2005 the Nebraska Supreme Court adopted the following resolution: “The Minority and Justice Implementation Committee shall study indigency attorney fee structures statewide and report and make recommendations, if any, to the Supreme Court regarding indigency fees throughout the State of Nebraska.”

The Nebraska Supreme Court’s resolution was influenced by a certain county’s attempt to establish a flat fee for court appointed attorneys. The legal profession’s concern with this policy is that such a drastic rate reduction would likely encourage attorneys to spend less time on court appointed cases, and discourage more experienced attorneys from accepting court appointments …

Progress Report 2005, Nebraska Minority And Justice Implementation Committee

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The Nebraska Minority and Justice Implementation Committee is a unique statewide collaboration that works to develop and implement just and sustainable policy reforms that will not only improve the system of justice but will also strengthen public trust and confidence in our laws and court system. The Committee is a joint effort of the Nebraska State Bar Association and the Nebraska Supreme Court, appointed by the Supreme Court in May of 2003 in response to a Task Force’s two-year investigation of racial and ethnic bias and discrimination in Nebraska’s justice system. The mission of the Committee is to achieve four …

Recent Efforts To Make Nebraska Juries More Representative Of Their Communities, Carly Duvall, Elizabeth Neeley

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

According to the Minority and Justice Task Force Report (2003), “the majority of Nebraskans believe that it is important that juries reflect the racial and ethnic makeup of the community.” Preliminary data obtained as part of the Task Force’s inquiry into representation of minorities on petit juries call into question whether Nebraska juries are representative of their communities. This concern has prompted several statewide policy reforms that are designed to increase representation of minorities on juries regardless of whether there has been a problem in the State. The first reform involved regular refreshing of jury pool lists (LB 19 and …

Ccf Semi-Annual Report: Nebraskans Expanding Behavioral Health Access Through Networking Delivery Systems, Caroline Wells, Mark Dekraai, Denise Bulling, Alan Tomkins

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Table of Contents:
1. Grant Information
2. Major Activities and Accomplishments
3. Concern/Problems
4. Significant Stories/Findings
5. Communication Activities
6. Other Activities
7. Activities Planned for the Next Reporting Period
8. Financial Status Report

Attachments:
A. Year Three Subawardees
B. Subawardee success stories
C. Information on technical assistance workshops
D. Information on Subawardee technical assistance events
E. Subawardee semiannual survey results
F. Financial status report
G. Subawardee newsletters
H. NEBHANDS Newsletters
I. Letters of Appreciation and Celebration of Excellence Keynote Speech

Ccf Semi-Annual Report April – September 2005

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Year three sub-awards were awarded to 58 different organizations (some were Year Two extensions), totaling approximately $560,560. Attachment A provides a list of third year subawardees, including the name and location of each, the type of organization, and description of project. Attachment B lists some of the major accomplishments of the third year subawardees.

The Indigent Defense System In Nebraska: An Update

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The Nebraska Minority and Justice Task Force was created as the joint initiative of the Nebraska State Bar Association and the Nebraska Supreme Court in October of 1999 to examine issues of racial and ethnic fairness within the Nebraska court and legal systems. The Task Force focused on four priority areas: Access to Justice, Court Personnel, Criminal and Juvenile Justice, and the Legal Profession. The results of the Task Force’s investigation, along with recommendations, were published in a report in January of 2003 (available on-line at www.nebar.com and www.unl.edu/ppc).

The major recommendation of the Final Report was to establish …

The Nebraska Minority And Justice Implementation Committee Progress Report

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The Nebraska Minority and Justice Task Force was formed in 1999 by the Nebraska Supreme Court and the Nebraska State Bar Association (NSBA) to examine issues of racial and ethnic fairness within the Nebraska court and legal systems. Through two substantial grants from the State Justice Institute (SJI), administered through the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center, the Minority and Justice Task Force undertook a two-year research project, which culminated in a 200-page final report (the Final Report is available on-line at www.nebar.com and www.unl.edu/ppc). The report investigated topics as diverse as potential bias in criminal prosecution, sentencing, jury …