This year, the Nebraska Resource Project for Vulnerable Young Children at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Center on Children, Families and the Law is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
The project's mission is to improve the well-being of vulnerable young children in Nebraska through supporting and strengthening professionals serving them across systems. It primarily focuses on the areas of infant and early childhood mental health, reflective practice and juvenile court work.
The recently released 2024 annual report, now available on the project’s website, highlights some of the project’s many accomplishments over the past decade and celebrates its partners and supporters.
Since 2015, the project has demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing the real-world needs of early childhood educators, juvenile court professionals, service providers, mental health clinicians and family support workers. This has led to the development of the Nebraska Center on Reflective Practice, infant and early childhood mental health clinical training programs and court project support and evaluation.
The project began with three staff members and now has 12 full-time employees, along with numerous student workers and consultants who support its many programs. Over the past 10 years, these programs have produced 700 trainings and events attended by more than 21,000 participants.
Most recently, the project has added a fifth clinical training program and has started a new reflective practice training program that provides practical skills to professionals experiencing burnout from work. In January, the program also released long-term findings from its reflective practice Facilitating Attuned Interactions training program that show participants experience many long-term benefits, including decreases in burnout and personal distress and increases in self-reflective ability and emotional regulation.
Looking ahead, the project remains committed to its mission by continuing to expand its training programs, supporting policies on infant and early childhood mental health, and fostering collaboration among professionals. The project will remain driven by the needs of the professionals who dedicate themselves to supporting Nebraska’s most vulnerable children and families in the years ahead.
View the 2024 annual report and learn more about the project's work online.
