Juvenile Justice Institute

10/15/2026

We’re excited to celebrate Kim Trost on her work anniversary with JJI! 🎉

Kim may often be working behind the scenes, but her impact is felt in just about everything we do. From keeping budgets, projects, and administrative details on track to supporting our staff and students, Kim is truly one of the people who keeps JJI running - and running smoothly! She’s also a key presence in our Lincoln office and is always willing to jump in wherever she’s needed.

Thank you, Kim, for everything you do to support JJI and the people behind our work. So much of what we accomplish is possible because of the care, organization, and dedication you bring to the team every day. We’re incredibly lucky to have you! ❤️

10/12/2026

🎉 We’re excited to introduce another fantastic addition to the JJI team — our newest undergraduate intern, Desaree!

Desaree is a senior at UNO majoring in Criminology and Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology. After graduating in Spring 2027, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice, with the goal of building a career as a policy or crime analyst.

During her time at JJI, Desaree will be gaining hands-on research experience while contributing across several areas of our work. She’ll be supporting our Nebraska AI Initiative and our national study of juvenile court judges’ experiences with AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM), as well as jumping in on other JJI projects and activities along the way.

Outside of academics and research, Desaree is also a student-athlete on the UNO Softball team! She enjoys traveling, hiking, watching baseball, and trying new foods.

We’re so excited to have Desaree on the JJI team and look forward to having her with us throughout the year! 🌟

10/08/2026

When Nebraska youth need intensive mental health treatment, what happens when that care isn’t available here at home?

Flatwater Free Press recently took a closer look at Nebraska’s reliance on out-of-state placements for young people with serious mental health needs - and reached out to the Juvenile Justice Institute to help provide context on what these placements can mean for youth, families, and the systems serving them.

JJI Director, Dr. Kristan Russell spoke with reporter Chris Bowling about the challenges that can arise when young people are sent far from home for treatment, including separation from family and community supports and the difficulties of transitioning back home after treatment.

The conversation also highlights a larger issue: the importance of building a strong continuum of care so Nebraska youth can access the right level of treatment, in the right setting, at the right time - and as close to home as possible.

🔗 Read the full story:

Last year, children received care in such states as Massachusetts, Alabama and Virginia that local facilities either can't or won't provide. For kids, these separations can be jarring, complicating treatment and their return home, experts say.

10/07/2026

🖤 We have a BIG opportunity today - and we only need 42 more people to help us make it happen!

It’s Wear Black, Give Back, UNO’s annual Giving Day! Thanks to the generosity of UNO alumni Donna and Robert Houston, the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice will receive an additional $25,000 if we reach 65 donors who give $5 or more.

📣 As of this post, we need just 42 more donors to unlock the full $25,000!
That means every donor matters — and just $5 gets us one step closer.

Even better, your gift also counts toward UNO’s university-wide goal of 7,000 gifts, which will unlock $1 MILLION for student scholarships! 🎉

And for our fellow Durango fans: gifts of $75+ come with an adorable limited-edition Durango building block set. ❤️

➡️ Give to SCCJ: https://givingday.unomaha.edu/campaigns/school-of-criminology-and-criminal-justice

Let’s do this! 🖤🤘

10/05/2026

🎉 Please join us in welcoming Nate, one of JJI’s undergraduate interns!

Nate is a Psychology major with a minor in Sociology and anticipates graduating in Spring 2027. Next up is a planned PhD in clinical psychology, with interests in psychopathology, psychological assessment, and severe mental illness. Long-term career goals include combining research and clinical practice, particularly in psychological testing and diagnosis.

At JJI, Nate will be supporting two of our current research initiatives examining emerging issues at the intersection of artificial intelligence and juvenile justice: our Nebraska AI Initiative and our national survey of juvenile court judges on AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM). We’re excited to have Nate gaining hands-on research experience while helping move both projects forward!

Outside of school and research, Nate is also a drag performer and enjoys another very different kind of project — restoring a 100-year-old home!

We’re so excited to have Nate on the JJI team and look forward to all of the contributions to come! 🌟

09/29/2026

Not every important question comes with a ready-made dataset or research plan.

Sometimes it starts with something you've noticed in your work:

Why is this happening?
Who is being affected?
Is this happening elsewhere?
What does the data tell us?
What could we do differently?

The Juvenile Justice Institute can help turn those questions into researchable projects - from developing the right approach and identifying data sources to collecting and analyzing information and translating the findings into something useful.

If there's a question your organization keeps coming back to, it may be worth exploring together.

Learn more about the Juvenile Justice Institute at juvenilejustice.unomaha.edu or contact us at [email protected]

09/15/2026

Evaluation doesn't have to mean a lengthy report that sits on a shelf.

At its best, evaluation helps organizations answer practical questions: Are we reaching who we intended to reach? Are participants getting what we hoped they would from the program? What's working well? Where could we improve?

The Juvenile Justice Institute works with organizations to build evaluation approaches that fit their programs, their capacity, and the questions they actually need answered.

Because good evaluation shouldn't just document your work - it should help strengthen it.

Learn more about the Juvenile Justice Institute at juvenilejustice.unomaha.edu or contact us at [email protected]

09/03/2026

🌟 Welcome to the Team, Maddie!

We’re excited to have Maddie joining the Juvenile Justice Institute as a graduate research assistant this semester! Maddie is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice at UNO and holds two bachelor’s degrees - one in psychology and one in forensic science - from the University of Central Oklahoma. Her research interests center on victimology, particularly missing and unidentified persons and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) cases.

This semester, Maddie will primarily contribute to our Nebraska Juvenile Justice Artificial Intelligence Initiative, which is exploring how AI is being used across Nebraska’s juvenile justice system and how professionals can be supported in its responsible and ethical implementation. She’ll also lend her research skills to several other projects across the Institute. Maddie brings valuable experience from her work with UNO’s Victimology and Victim Studies Research Lab, where she has supported multiple research projects.

Looking ahead, Maddie plans to pursue a PhD and hopes to build a career in research that contributes to a stronger understanding of victims and victimization. When she’s not immersed in research, she loves reading and is a huge horror movie fan!

We’re so glad to have Maddie joining our team and look forward to all she’ll contribute to the Juvenile Justice Institute!

09/01/2026

Having data and knowing what to do with it are two very different things.

Our team has extensive experience working directly with courts and court data across juvenile justice and child welfare systems. We understand that administrative data can be complicated - and that understanding the system behind the numbers matters just as much as analyzing them.

Whether you're trying to identify trends, answer a specific research question, evaluate an initiative, or think through what data you should be collecting, the Juvenile Justice Institute can help.

Learn more about the Juvenile Justice Institute at juvenilejustice.unomaha.edu or contact us at [email protected]

08/28/2026

🌟 Welcome to the Team, Blaire!

We’re excited to welcome Blaire to the Juvenile Justice Institute as a graduate research assistant this semester! Blaire is a second-year master’s student in UNO’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She also earned her bachelor’s degree from UNO in psychology, with a concentration in forensic psychology and a minor in criminal justice. Her research interests include mental health, victimology, and juvenile justice, and she hopes to pursue a career as an intelligence analyst after graduation.

At the Juvenile Justice Institute, Blaire will primarily support our national study examining juvenile court judges’ experiences and perceptions of cases involving AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM). She brings previous research experience examining youth extremism and restorative justice policies in schools. For her master’s thesis, Blaire is studying juvenile homicide victimization in metropolitan areas to better understand where and why youth are victimized and identify opportunities for prevention and policy reform.

Outside of her academic work, Blaire teaches violin and piano and is currently learning the cello!! She also enjoys hiking, Krav Maga, and archery - and recently got engaged while visiting Glacier National Park. 🎉

We’re thrilled to have Blaire’s research experience and enthusiasm on the Juvenile Justice Institute team!