Nebraska State Disability Resources

Complete update - 8/2007
Partial update - 1/3/2008

The offices listed on this state sheet are primarily state-level offices. Even if an office is not close to your home, they can usually put you in touch with resources in your community, as well as provide you with information and assistance about disability issues in your state. If you find that an address or number has changed or is incorrect, please e-mail us at nichcy@aed.org and let us know.

Age of Eligibility

Each state sets eligibility ages for services to children and youth with disabilities. For current information concerning this state, please contact the office listed under Department of Education: Special Education.

State Agencies and Organizations

United States Senators
Honorable Chuck Hagel (R)
248 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-4224
(202) 224-5213 (Fax)
E-mail Web Form: http://hagel.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Offices.Contact
Web: http://hagel.senate.gov

Honorable Ben Nelson (D)
720 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-6551
(202) 228-0012 (Fax)
E-mail Web Form: http://bennelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
Web: http://bennelson.senate.gov/

United States Representatives
To find the contact information for your representative in the House of the U.S. Congress, visit the HouseÕs Web site at: www.house.gov, or call: (202) 225-3121; (202) 225-1904 (TTY).

Governor
Honorable Dave Heineman
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 94848
Lincoln, NE 68509-4848
(402) 471-2244
(402) 471-6031 (Fax)
E-mail Web Form: www.gov.state.ne.us/mail/govmail.html
Web: www.gov.state.ne.us/

Official State Web Site
Web: www.nebraska.gov/index.phtml

State Department of Education: Special Education
Gary M. Sherman, Administrator
Special Populations Office
Nebraska Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
(402) 471-2471 (V/TTY)
E-mail: gary.sherman@nde.ne.gov
Web: www.nde.state.ne.us/SPED/sped.html

State Coordinator for NCLB (No Child Left Behind)
Special Populations Office
Nebraska Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
(402) 471-2471 (V/TTY)
Web: www.nde.state.ne.us

Programs for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities: Ages Birth through 2
Joan Luebbers, Part C Co-Coordinator
Nebraska Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
(402) 471-2463
E-mail: joan.luebbers@nde.ne.gov
Web: www.nde.state.ne.us/edn

Amy Bunnell, Part C Co-Coordinator
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
P.O. Box 95026
Lincoln, NE 68509-5026
(402) 471-9329
E-mail: amy.bunnell@hhss.ne.gov
Web: www.hhs.state.ne.us

Programs for Children with Disabilities: Ages 3 through 5
Jan Thelen, Coordinator
Special Populations Office
Nebraska Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
(402) 471-4319
E-mail: jan.thelen@nde.ne.gov
Web: www.nde.state.ne.us

Nebraska ChildFind, Rights, Resources, & Referrals for Children with Disabilities: Birth through 21
Steve Miller, Statewide Coordinator
Nebraska ChildFind
5143 S. 48th Street, Suite C
Lincoln, NE 68516-2204
(402) 471-2447; (888) 806-6287 (in NE)
E-mail: smiller@atp.ne.gov
Web: www.childfind.ne.gov

State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency
Frank Lloyd, Director
Vocational Rehabilitation
Nebraska Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall South, 6th Floor
P. O. Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
(402) 471-3649
E-mail: frank.lloyd@vr.ne.gov
Web: www.vocrehab.state.ne.us

Office of State Coordinator of Vocational Education for Students with Disabilities
Donna Vrbka, Director
School Counseling
Nebraska Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
(402) 471-4811
E-mail: donna.vrbka@nde.ne.gov
Web: www.nde.state.ne.us/CARED/

Coordinator for Transition Services
Jack Shepard, State Transition Coordinator
Special Populations Office
Nebraska Department of Education
6949 S. 110th Street
Omaha, NE 68128
(402) 595-2171
E-mail: jack.shepard@nde.ne.gov
Web: www.nde.state.ne.us/SPED/sped.html

State Mental Health Agency
Ron Sorensen, Administrator
Division of Behavioral Health Services
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
P.O. Box 98925
Lincoln, NE 68509-8925
(402) 471-7766
E-mail: ron.sorensen@hhss.ne.gov
Web: www.hhs.state.ne.us

State Mental Health Representative for Children and Youth
Susan Adams, Program Coordinator
Field Representative, Region 6
Child/Adolescent Treatment Program Coordinator
Division of Behavioral Health Services
DHHS Division of Behavioral Health
P.O. Box 98925
Lincoln, NE 68509-8925
(402) 471-7820; (402) 440-2434 (cell)
E-mail: susan.adams@hhss.ne.gov

Programs for People with Developmental Disabilities
René Ferdinand, Acting Director
Division of Developmental Disabilities
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
P.O. Box 98947
Lincoln, NE 68509-8947
(402) 471-8715
E-mail: rene.ferdinand@hhss.ne.gov
Web: www.hhs.state.ne.us/

Councils on Developmental Disabilities
Mary Gordon, Program Administrator
Nebraska Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities
Department of Health and Human Services
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 95044
Lincoln, NE 68509
(402) 471-0143
E-mail: mary.gordon@hhss.ne.gov
E-mail: terri.holman@hhss.ne.gov
Web: www.hhs.state.ne.us/ddplanning/

Protection and Advocacy Agency
Timothy Shaw, CEO
Nebraska Advocacy Services, Inc.
134 South 13th Street, Suite 600
Lincoln, NE 68508
(402) 474-3183; (800) 422-6691
E-mail: info@nebraskaadvocacyservices.org
Web: www.nebraskaadvocacyservices.org

Client Assistance Program
Victoria Rasmussen, CAP Director
Nebraska Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
(402) 471-3656; (800) 742-7594 (In NE)
E-mail: victoria.rasmussen@cap.ne.gov
Web: www.cap.state.ne.us

Programs for Children with Special Health Care Needs
Ginger Goomis, Long Term Care Programs Administrator
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
P.O. Box 95026
Lincoln, NE 68509-5026
(402) 471-9185
E-mail: ginger.goomis@dhhs.ne.gov
Web: www.dhhs.ne.gov

State CHIP Program
(health care for low-income uninsured children)
Deb Scherer, RN, Medicaid Division
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Finance and Support
(Kids Connection)
P.O. Box 95026
Lincoln, NE 68509-5026
(402) 471-0122; (877) 632-5437
E-mail: deb.scherer@dhhs.ne.gov
Web: www.dhhs.ne.gov

Programs for Children and Youth who are Blind or Visually Impaired
Dr. Pearl Van Zandt, Executive Director
Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired
4600 Valley Road, Suite 100
Lincoln, NE 68510
(402) 471-2891
E-mail: pearl.vanzandt@ncbvi.ne.gov
Web: www.ncbvi.ne.gov

Programs for Children and Youth who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Rhonda Fleischer, State Liaison
Nebraska Department of Education
ESU #9
P.O. Box 2047
Hastings, NE 68901
(402) 463-5611; (800) 311-2065 (Parent Number)
E-mail: rfleisch@esu9.org

Tanya Wendel, Executive Director
Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
4600 Valley Road, Suite 420
Lincoln, NE 68510-4844
(402) 471-3593 (V/TTY); (800) 545-6244 (in NE)
E-mail: tanya.wendel@ncdhh.ne.gov
Web: www.ncdhh.ne.gov

Telecommunications Relay Services for Individuals who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or with Speech Impairments
(800) 833-0920 (V)
(800) 833-7352 (TTY/ASCII); 711 (TTY)
(888) 696-0629 (Fast ASCII)
(888) 272-5527 (Speech to Speech)
(888) 272-5528 (Spanish)

Programs for Children and Youth who are Deaf-Blind
Dr. Pearl Van Zandt, Executive Director
Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired
4600 Valley Road, Suite 100
Lincoln, NE 68510
(402) 471-2891
E-mail: pearl.vanzandt@ncbvi.ne.gov
Web: www.ncbvi.ne.gov

State Education Agency Rural Representative
Dr. Douglas D. Christensen, Commissioner
Nebraska Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
(402) 471-5020
E-mail: doug.christensen@nde.ne.gov
Web: www.nde.state.ne.us

Regional ADA & IT Technical Assistance Center
Jim de Jong, Director
ADA and I.T. Center
DBTAC - Great Plains ADA Center
University of Missouri/Columbia
100 Corporate Lake Drive
Columbia, MO 65203
(573) 882-3600 (V/TTY); (800) 949-4232 (V/TTY)
E-mail: ada@missouri.edu
Web: www.adaproject.org

University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
J. Michael Leibowitz, Ph.D., Director
Munroe-Meyer Institute
UCEDD
985450 Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE 68198-5450
(402) 559-5702
Web: www.unmc.edu/mmi

Technology-Related Assistance
Mark Schultz, Director
Nebraska Assistive Technology Partnership
5143 S. 48th Street, Suite C
Lincoln, NE 68516-2204
(402) 471-0734 (V/TTY); (888) 806-6287 (V/TTY)
Email: atp@atp.ne.gov
Web: www.atp.ne.gov

Jill Beckenhauer, Coordinator
Nebraska Educational Assistive Technology (NEAT)
1910 Meridian Avenue
Cozad, NE 69130-1159
(308) 784-4525
E-mail: neatcenter@esu10.org
Web: www.at4all.com

Patti Neill, Program Manager
AT4ALL
1910 Meridian Avenue
Cozad, NE 69130
(308) 784-4525; (800) 652-0033 (Cozad)
(402) 595-1920; (877) 201-4141 (Omaha)
E-mail: at4all@at4all.com
Web: www.at4all.com

State Mediation System
John D. Clark, Consultant
Special Populations Office
Nebraska Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
(402) 471-4304
E-mail: john.clark@nde.ne.gov
Web: www.nde.state.ne.us/SPED/mediation/index.html

Special Format Library
Nebraska Library Commission
Talking Book and Braille Service
The Atrium
1200 N Street, Suite 120
Lincoln, NE 68508-2023
(402) 471-4038; (800) 742-7691
E-mail: talkingbook@nlc.state.ne.us
Web: www.nlc.state.ne.us/tbbs/