Document Type
Report
Publication Date
Spring 2025
Abstract
The Vocational and Life Skills (VLS) program was created by Nebraska Legislative Bill 907 in 2014 with the purpose of easing the transition for individuals who reenter the community after incarceration. The VLS initiative is evaluated by the Nebraska Center for Justice Research (NCJR) to identify the impact service providers and programming have in increasing meaningful employment and prosocial lifestyle improvements among the justice-involved population. As part of the evaluation, NCJR provides trainings to support grantees as needed and provides feedback and information to the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) regarding the implementation process and data updates on a monthly and quarterly basis. NCJR utilizes feedback from NDCS and service providers to ensure accurate reporting. Questions on this report may be directed to the Research Coordinator, Katelynn Towne, at the Nebraska Center for Justice Research (ktowne@unomaha.edu).
Grantees use the Nebraska Inmate Case Management System (NICaMS) to submit data on participants served through the Vocational and Life Skills funding. The current data derives from an active database, from which data is being entered and updated daily. Data values, including previously submitted information, may fluctuate depending on the duration of lag between service delivery and data entry. One common example of this is when participants begin programming near the end of the month and grantee staff do not yet have intake information to enter for participants before the next data pull date. These changes will be reflected in future reports. NDCS staff and evaluators at NCJR work with grantees to manage data entry errors on an ongoing basis using email, phone, and site visit communications.
This report is submitted to the Nebraska Legislature on behalf of NDCS. This report contains 1) descriptions of the 14 funded organizations across the state, 2) a snapshot of participation across reentry programs, 3) program offering participations, and 4) descriptions of those offerings by funded programs (Appendix A).
Recommended Citation
Nebraska Center for Justice Research; Pannkuk, Janee; Hayes, Abby; and Towne, Katelynn, "Vocational & Life Skills: Quarterly Report - Grant Cycle Five, Quarter Five July-September 2024" (2025). Reports. 149.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/ncjrreports/149
