For more than 20 years, the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools has turned education research into real results throughout the state and beyond its borders. Since its founding in 2004, the center’s programs and interventions have touched the lives of more than 325,000 children and adolescents, and 22,000 educators in nearly 3,800 schools and early childhood programs statewide.
For more than four years, the Nebraska State Personnel Development Grant (NSPDG) program has provided high-quality professional development for educators throughout the state to better support students with disabilities.
Recognizing that every school is different, the program offers tailored support to educators through in-person workshops, online learning, consultation and coaching support. It aligns with, and is implemented in conjunction with, Nebraska’s Multi-tiered System of Support, a framework to ensure every student can access learning experiences that enhance their educational outcomes.
Name: Mia Penner
Title: Grants coordinator
Hometown: Council Bluffs, Iowa
Where did you work prior to joining CYFS? What was your role there, and what did it entail?
“Prior to joining CYFS, I worked at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in the Radiology Department as an administrative research associate. I supported a variety of research administration activities. I worked closely with both clinical and research faculty. My responsibilities included coordinating grant submissions, assisting with project management and monitoring research workflows. Through this experience, I gained valuable insight into the research lifecycle and developed a strong foundation in research support.”
The College of Education and Human Sciences and the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools will host a fall series of research presentations beginning Sept. 9, covering social, behavioral and educational challenges important to Nebraska and beyond.
Sungeun Kang, assistant professor of school psychology, is the 2026 recipient of the CYFS Signature Research Impact Program (SRIP) award, which was developed to address critical issues affecting Nebraska’s children, youth, families, schools and communities.
Creating connections among early childhood research, practice and policy — and how each can enhance the lives of young children and their families — provided the central theme of the 2026 CYFS Early Childhood Research Summit .
Almost 200 attendees, including researchers from across the University of Nebraska system, practitioners, administrators, community partners and policymakers, gathered April 28 at Nebraska Innovation Campus for the daylong, seventh biennial summit, which highlighted the latest research to advance early childhood education and development, and implications for practice and policy.
Pavel Chernyavskiy, assistant professor in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Virginia, led the spring presentation of the 2025-26 Methodology Applications Series April 24 at the Nebraska Union.
Video is now available of Chernyavskiy’s presentation, titled, “Everything is Important and Everything is Correlated: Challenges and Opportunities of Working in Correlated Data.”
CYFS is seeking its next director — an accomplished research leader who can build on a strong foundation of partnerships, signature programs and real-world impact.
The search is being led by a faculty search committee, with support from the College of Education and Human Sciences (CEHS) at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
