Grantees - Nebraska (TYP)

The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska will provide prevention and intervention to juveniles ages 7 to 17 in 12 counties of Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. Services will be provided in various types of settings, including after-school programs, courts, and cultural/community events. Referrals are received from the Juvenile Court, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, County Court or parents.

2004 Tribal Youth Program Grantee

Winnebago Tribe

Project Title: Winnebago Tribal Youth Program

Category: II, III

The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska project will focus on creating a diversion program centered around a youth program called Native Youth Posse that will be administered through the Winnebago Tribal Juvenile Court. Year-round afterschool activities for both court-involved and other youth will be held at the Whirling Thunder Wellness Center (recreation center) and various outdoor locations and off reservation sites. Categories under which this application is made: 1) Provide interventions for court-involved tribal youth. The Tribal Court will refocus its juvenile justice activities from probation and punishment to diversion and intervention activities. The program will serve 80 to 100 total juveniles, male and female, aged 10 to 18, each year. Youths will be diverted from probation into the program, which will provide interventions that include: positive role modeling, cultural education, esteem building, healthy alternative activities, and adult and peer mentoring. A community-policing component will give diverted youth the responsibility of developing and implementing safe walk to school and neighborhood watch, village beautification, graffiti abatement, and a code of conduct. 2) Improve the tribal juvenile justice system. Cross-coordination among organizations in Winnebago will be improved, including building the capacity of the Juvenile Court and Probation Department to compile data and statistics for tracking, reporting and evaluation purposes and to establish baselines statistics for tracking, reporting and evaluation purposes to better operate the juvenile court and its programs.

2003 Tribal Youth Program Grantee

Ponca Tribe of Nebraska

Project: Ponca Tribe Tribal Youth Program

Category: I. Prevention Services To Impact Risk Factors for Delinquency; II. Intervention for Court-Involved Youth; IV. Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Programs

The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska was a recipient of OJJDP Tribal Youth Program funding in 1999 and will continue and expand services under the TYP IV grant. The TYP project targets Ponca youth ages 7 to 18. The youth are identified through contacts with families, courts, schools, and social services agencies. Part of the focus of this project is to establish a working relationship with Lancaster and Douglas counties in Nebraska. Services provided to Ponca youth include culture-based prevention services aimed at reducing risk factors for delinquency. A child advocate provides services through an afterschool program and a child services specialist coordinates caseloads to provide intervention for court-involved youth. TYP also provides alcohol and drug prevention education workshops and coordinates counseling referrals and services.

2000 Tribal Youth Program Grantees

Ponca Tribe of Nebraska

Project: Tribal Youth Program

Category: III. Improvement to Tribal Juvenile Justice Systems

In this Ponca Tribe of Nebraska project, the target population is youth ages 7 to 18. A juvenile advocate is the primary contact within the tribe to work with court-involved youth, encourage them to complete their disciplinary programs, and deter negative behavior, and to work with the Ponca courts and other courts to establish graduated sanctions programs.

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Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska

Project: Winnebago Tribal Youth Program

Category: III. Improvement to Tribal Juvenile Justice Systems

This project is located on the Winnebago Indian Reservation in the northeast corner of Nebraska. The targeted youth are approximately 12 to 17 years of age. This project is establishing a juvenile probation officer (JPO) whose responsibilities are to investigate and monitor the status of youth on probation or diversion in the Winnebago tribal court. The JPO reports to the tribal prosecutor on the progress and status of the youth, facilitates the youth in obtaining necessary rehabilitative care and services, and appears in court; The JPO also reports to the project supervisor on progress toward accomplishing the goals of the project, including gathering statistical information.