Nebraska advocates concerned over rise in foster care children in juvenile detention

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - This year, more youths in Nebraska’s foster care system are ending up in juvenile detention facilities. It’s a trend that concerns Douglas County advocates and the Nebraska Foster Care Review Office (FCRO).

In its recent quarterly reports, the FCRO noted higher numbers of youth in “detention or juvenile justice” facilities: going from 93 last September, to 118 in December, and dropping slightly in March of this year to 103.

In its current priority recommendations, the FCRO expressed concern about the trend, stating: “Youth placed in detention or other juvenile justice confinement must have access to appropriate treatment services and programming, including educational programming, to ensure that time spent in detention is not lost and youth can continue to make progress toward healing and rehabilitation.”

That is a sentiment echoed by the executive director of CASA for Douglas County, who says the trend is likely a symptom of generational trauma.

“In some cultures, that’s something that you don’t talk about outside of your home, and so you experience it over and over again, and there comes the explosive behavior that these children have, simply because they haven’t dealt with the internal, generational trauma that’s there within their home environment,” said Kimberly C. Barnes.

Barnes said providing adequate mental health care to youth is the first step but thinks more needs to be done to help the entire family.

“Ultimately going back into the home and having conversations with those guardians or those parents, to say these are some of the programs that are also offered to you,” explained Barnes.

Michayla Stawniak wonders if her family’s fate could have been different, had her mother received mental health care.

Stawniak, 26 of Omaha, was placed in the Nebraska welfare system at six-years-old, along with six of her siblings. She said at the time, her mother struggled with mental illness and addiction.

“I’m not going to downplay the abuse or the neglect that we went through,” said Stawniak. She added, “I often wonder what our lives would have been like had we grown up in a healthy environment.”

Stawniak now advocates for better support for Nebraska’s foster care youth. During her time in foster care, she saw lack of stability and stress lead to mental health and behavioral problems for many youths.

“You never know when a foster family is going to decide they’re done with you and you’re going to have to pack your little trash bag and move on. You never know when you’re going to move so far away that you have to change schools and everyone around you is brand new. You never know when your caseworker is going to decide their caseload is too much and they’re going to quit,” said Stawniak.

Stawniak knows many youths that ended up in the juvenile justice system, something she says is often a result of trauma.

“They’re not operating in that same dynamic and they’re not doing the activities that healthy families are doing with their children. So, it’s not shocking that they’re turning towards crime,” said Stawniak.

She said more needs to be done to support foster care youth in general, but especially those who end up in detention facilities.

“You’re asking them to leave this facility and rejoin society and know exactly what they need to do to be functional, and you see adults that can’t even do that,” said Stawniak.

Barnes also noted that sometimes, poverty can be perceived as abuse or neglect, when a family just doesn’t have the means to take care of their children. “I think we have to be more equitable in making sure that all resources are available no matter your socioeconomic background or your racial demographics,” said Barnes.

She added that when creating programs to support these youth, hiring individuals with lived experience is a tremendous asset.

CASA for Douglas County is always looking for more volunteers to become trained “Court Appointed Special Advocates” to support children in the welfare system and elevate their voices.

CASA currently serves 305 children in Douglas County amongst their 170 volunteers, with more than 140 children on a waitlist.