National judicial organization in downtown Reno

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) is the nation’s oldest and one of the largest judicial membership organizations. The Reno-headquartered, non-profit provides resources, support and training to aid in the continuing education of judges and other juvenile and family court professionals across the United States.

While the NCJFCJ is nationally recognized as a leader in providing juvenile and family court judicial education, many are not aware that they are based in Reno or of the economic impact the organization has on the state.

The organization generates an estimated $16 million a year for the state of Nevada.

Joey Orduna Hastings, CEO for the NCJFCJ, called the organization “the best hidden secret in Reno and Nevada.”

The organization, along with UNR and The National Judicial College, has trained more judges in Nevada than in any other state. In 2015, the NCJFCJ fulfilled more than 885 requests for technical assistance and trained more than 12,500 judges, judicial officers, attorneys, and other juvenile and family court-related professionals across the nation.

The NCJFCJ works to address an array of issues in the juvenile and family justice courts such as child abuse and neglect, juvenile justice, domestic violence, youth substance abuse prevention, child custody and visitation rights, minority issues and many more.

They have more than 50 national and local grant-funded educational meetings and trainings scheduled this year alone. Additionally, many of their educational resources can be downloaded off their website for free.

“We do amazing work,” Orduna Hastings said.

Orduna Hastings started as CEO for the NCJFCJ back in July 2016. She was chosen out of a nationwide search after the former CEO, Mari Kay Bickett, announced her retirement.

The NCJFCJ currently has 1,600 members and 84 employees between their Reno headquarters and their research division, the National Center for Juvenile Justice, in Pittsburgh, Pa.

According to Orduna Hastings, several of their employees have been with the organization for 10 to 20 years and 20 of their employees are graduates of UNR.

“There is a lot of dedication internally to this work,” Orduna Hastings said.

As a non-profit organization, they rely on funding from grants, members, donor and private foundations to continue their work. According to the NCJFCJ, they have received an estimated 23 awards totaling more than $10.5 million in funding for 2016-2017.

Earlier this year, the organization moved into its new 14,699-square-foot downtown office at 300 E 2nd Street, across from Greater Nevada Field. They are leasing the space from Basin Street Properties, a commercial real estate company and developer headquartered in Reno.

Orduna Hastings explained that their new office’s close proximity to newly opened Courtyard by Marriott Reno Downtown/Riverfront, as well as many other downtown hotels such as the Whitney Peak Hotel and the Siena, soon to be the Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel, provide a convenient place for their members to stay when they travel to Reno for NCJFCJ’s trainings, workshops and meetings.

In 2017, the organization will celebrate its 80th anniversary.

The NCJFCJ was founded in 1937 and was originally headquartered in Chicago. In 1969, the NCJFCJ received a grant from the Max C. Fleischmann Foundation, the same foundation that provided grant money to build the Fleischmann Planetarium in Reno, and the NCJFCJ moved its headquarters from the Chicago to the University of Nevada, Reno campus. The organization has been affiliated with UNR ever since.

According to Orduna Hastings, while the issues facing juvenile and family courts have changed throughout the years, as technology changes and new issues arise, the overall mission of NCJFCJ has remained the same – to improve the lives of children, families and victims who seek justice.

“The beauty of the organization is it continues to evolve to capture those nuances,” she said.

Orduna Hastings also explained that one does not have to be a judge to be a member of the organization. Their membership is open to any professional with a connection to the judicial court system including court clerks, attorneys, social workers, etc. They also have student memberships, organizational memberships as well as joint memberships with the National Juvenile Court Services Association and the National American Indian Court Judges Association.

For more information about the NCJFCJ, visit www.ncjfcj.org.