Greetings and welcome to the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ website! I am pleased and proud to give you a brief introduction to the NCJFCJ, an organization I’ve been a part of for more than 30 years.

Since its establishment in 1937, the NCJFCJ has provided education, technical assistance, publications and other resources to the nation’s juvenile and family court judges and related professionals. Although the issues facing juvenile and family courts have changed over the years, our mission has remained the same: to improve the effectiveness of juvenile and family courts by assisting judges, court personnel and related professionals in their day-to-day challenging work to achieve fair and effective justice for our nation’s children and families. 

NCJFCJ marked its 70th anniversary in 2007, a year in which we held several special events, including two town hall meetings and a Gala Celebration on Nov. 9, 2007. Nearly 300 people turned out on November 9th to help celebrate at John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks, NV. The memorable evening featured live and silent auctions and actor, director, producer, author and children's advocate Henry Winkler as keynote speaker.

The NCJFCJ has been my professional home since I came on staff in 1969 for a summer job while a student at the University of Nevada in Reno. I have seen this organization grow from a staff of two in 1969 to its present size of more than 100 employees located in Reno, Nev., Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh, Pa. The scope of its work has expanded in areas that we could not have imagined during those early years to include family violence, child abuse and neglect, substance abuse, juvenile delinquency, mental health, and many related areas.

If you are not already an NCJFCJ member, I urge you to consider the benefits that come with membership. More than 2,000 judges, court administrators, probation officers, social workers, and other professionals involved in juvenile and family courts in all 50 states and several foreign countries are NCJFCJ members. Please visit our Membership page to learn more about NCJFCJ membership, or click here to join through our website. NCJFCJ membership can be an invaluable resource in your work!

If you aren't able to locate the information on our website that you need, I hope you will contact our office. We will be happy to assist you.

Recent columns from Juvenile and Family Justice Today magazine:
   Winter 2010
   Fall 2009
   Summer 2009
   Spring 2009 
   Winter 2009 (People to People trip to South Africa)
   Fall 2008 

Please visit NCJFCJ on Facebook and Linked In.

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Biography of: 

Mary V. Mentaberry has served as Executive Director of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, headquartered on the University of Nevada, Reno campus since September 2004. She has worked for the NCJFCJ for more than 35 years in a variety of positions, beginning as a student employee in 1969.

As Executive Director, her responsibilities have included overseeing all areas related to administration of the organization, including all personnel (101), offices in five locations (three in Reno, NCJJ in Pittsburgh, and the Family Violence Department office in Washington, D.C.). She oversees an annual budget of over $15 million, including income and expenditures from as many as 80 funding sources and reports directly to the President of the NCJFCJ, as well as the members of NCJFCJ’s Executive Committee and Board of Trustees.
 

Ms. Mentaberry is responsible for maintaining close working relationships with members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives and their staffs in order to ensure continued funding stream for NCJFCJ projects. Also maintains close working relationships with the Office of the Governor, State of Nevada and Nevada State Legislature in order to ensure funding from the state for NCJFCJ. She has developed collaborative relationships with related organizations, including: American Judges Association; National Judicial College; National Center for State Courts; American Bar Association; Child Welfare League of America; American Public Human Services Association; Conference of Chief Justices; Conference of State Court Administrators; National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators; National CASA Association; University of Nevada, Reno; UNR’s Center for Justice Studies.

 

Ms. Mentaberry joined NCJFCJ in the Summer of 1969 as a Student Assistant while attending the University of Nevada, Reno, the second person hired at the Council. She joined the organization full-time in 1970 as Manager of Training Services and then Assistant Director of the Training Division, where she took responsibility for administration of judicial training programs.

 

Since 1983, she has worked in various capacities in NCJFCJ’s Permanency Planning for Children Department, and was the Department’s Director from 1996 to 2004. During this time, she directed development and implementation for approximately $5 million annually in nationally focused programs to improve court and systems practice in handling of child abuse and neglect cases. These initiatives focus on improving court and systems practice to ultimately provide better outcomes for our nation’s abused and neglected children. Among the many projects she has directed, her work in the Department has been instrumental in:

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS