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WHAT IS THE SBCJAC?

The Scotts Bluff County Juvenile Assessment Center (SBCJAC ) strives to keep youth at home and out of juvenile justice and human services systems by connecting families with supportive services to promote safe, healthy and happy kids.

FOR PARENTS

You Are Not Alone

Few tasks in life are as challenging, complex and scary as being a parent. Add in the impulsive and irrational adolescent brain along with environmental agitators such as drug and alcohol abuse, reckless behavior and mental health issues and it is a wonder any of us survive our teen years. The SBCJAC is aware of the difficulties parents and children face and is prepared to provide assessment, screening and referrals for struggling youth.

Parents Click Here

FOR AGENCIES

We’re Here to Help

Are you working with a youth who is struggling at school or home and you feel they would benefit from an assessment? Do you have an especially difficult youth with whom you have exhausted your in-house resources? The SBCJAC is here to help. Contact us today to make a referral. We can work with nearly all youth ages 11-18 except for probation-involved youth.

Agencies Click Here

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

DID YOU KNOW?

Nationwide, 1 in 5 adolescents have or will have a serious mental illness.

HOW WE HELP

→ At the SBCJAC we provide a mental health simple screening and can coordinate services with local mental health providers.

DID YOU KNOW?

The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed until she or he is 25 years old!

HOW WE HELP

→ We all make mistakes but for teens, thinking of the consequences of their actions does not yet come naturally to them.

DID YOU KNOW?

Truancy and skipping school can often be an indicator of bigger problems such as bullying at school, mental health/substance abuse issues and learning disabilities.

HOW WE HELP

→ If your child is experiencing attendance issues, we can help try to solve the problem.

GETTING STARTED

We strive to provide more effective, coordinated interventions for juveniles ages 11-18. These are youth that are at risk for further involvement in the juvenile justice system.

It has been identified that juvenile services in the area are fragmented and lacking. By having a single point of entry for juveniles and their families, the SBCJAC will enable the opportunity for assessments, referrals for services and crisis intervention all in hopes of preventing further at-risk behavior and continued involvement in the juvenile justice system.

MAKE A REFERRAL

To refer a child, click the button below and fill out our Contact Form. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Click Here

MEET OUR DIRECTOR

Liz MacDonald recently returned to Scotts Bluff County after spending 13 years in Florida. She graduated from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL with a BA in Literature and spent several years working as an intervention specialist in the homes of families involved with Child Protective Services due to substance abuse, mental health issues, domestic violence and child mistreatment. She also worked as a case manager for children in therapeutic foster care. In November 2015, Liz returned to assume the newly established role of Scotts Bluff County Juvenile Assessment Center Director and was tasked with creating and running the SBCJAC which officially opened its doors in February 2016.

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults.” -Frederick Douglass