15 rural attorneys complete child welfare, juvenile justice training program

Fifteen rural Nebraska attorneys recently completed the University of Nebraska College of Law’s Children’s Justice Attorney Education Fellowship program. 

The program provides participants with extensive education on state and federal child welfare and juvenile justice laws, along with insight into the subjects necessary to become strong advocates, including trauma and child development, substance use, domestic violence, complex family dynamics and specialized Indian Child Welfare Act training. 

Over the course of eight months, participants attended in-person workshops and trainings and developed relationships with other juvenile justice attorneys and professionals. 

The attorneys who participated, listed alphabetically by hometown with the counties they represent, are:

• Ames: James Drake (Dodge)
• Columbus: Emilee Higgins (Butler, Colfax, Platte); Timothy Matas (Butler, Colfax, Platte, Polk); Kaitlyn Oeltjen (Colfax, Platte)
• Grand Island: Andrew Hanquist (Custer, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Howard, Sherman, Valley)
• Hastings: Jacob Meyer (Adams)
• Kearney: Alyssa Slama (Buffalo, Franklin, Furnas, Harlan, Kearney, Phelps); Remington Slama (Buffalo, Franklin, Furnas, Harlan, Kearney, Phelps)
• Lincoln: Bethany Allen (Douglas, Lancaster, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Seward); Mark Moore (Cass, Lancaster, Otoe, Sarpy, Saunders, Seward, Washington)
• North Platte: Kasey Hahn (Lincoln, Logan, Red Willow)
• Schuyler: Tonia Soukup (Butler, Colfax)
• Scottsbluff: Rhonda Flower (Banner, Cheyenne, Dawes, Kimball, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Sioux)

In addition to the education-based workshops, participants worked with other child welfare and juvenile justice experts to evaluate cases as they learned to integrate social and psychological factors into the legal issues arising in their cases. Attorneys also participated in a relationship-based exercise known as reflective practice. This exercise mitigates the effects of emotionally intrusive work by helping individuals examine their current and past actions, emotions, experiences and responses to evaluate their performance and learn to improve.

“The attorneys who have participated in this program have an enhanced knowledge of the underlying family dynamics and circumstances that can affect children and families,” said Michelle Paxton, director of the Nebraska Children’s Justice and Legal Advocacy Center. “Increasing the number of highly trained advocates to support Nebraska’s most vulnerable populations has always been one of our top priorities.

According to data reported by past participants, completion of the program has led them to spend a greater number of hours working on juvenile court cases.

“In our first four years, the program has trained attorneys in 77 of Nebraska’s 93 counties,”

Paxton said. “We are changing the way children are represented in Nebraska.”

The application for the 2026 cohort will open in January. The program is open to licensed attorneys practicing in rural Nebraska. Learn more.

For the complete list of rural Nebraska attorneys who recently completed the program, go here.