About Us

Voice Advocacy Center

is a 501 c (3) tax-exempt Special Education Advocacy, Dyslexia Screening and Tutoring Center servicing families of children who receive special education services in school and providing screening and tutoring to children, teenagers, and adults who struggle to read, write, and spell due to dyslexia and/or other reading related issues.

Our History

The work behind Voice Advocacy Center has been in existence for the past 17 years. It started out with Clarice Jackson advocating on behalf of her daughter Latecia Fox who she became the legal guardian of at the age of 8. When she met her, she was in the 2nd grade and unable to read simple two and three-letter words! Prior to Clarice stepping in to advocate on her behalf, she was passed on to the 4th grade still unable to read! Clarice could not stand by and watch this child progress from grade to grade KNOWING she could not do the homework!! Latecia’s biological mother saw the love and passion Clarice was investing in her daughter and knew she could not give her what Clarice could so she asked her to officially become her mother. Clarice became her legal guardian (mother). In her role as parent/advocate, she researched and found that she had failing grades that dated back to pre-kindergarten! She knew without “her voice” speaking on her behalf for academic appropriateness and a requirement for her to make adequate yearly progress that her life trajectory would be grim.

In her research, she heard the word “dyslexia” and KNEW it was the unknown name that had robbed Latecia all these years of reading, writing, and spelling. She enrolled in Latecia in a private school, The Phoenix Academy that offered a multi-sensory reading program that worked for children with dyslexia, and in one year she went from a non-reader to a third-grade reader! Having an appropriate method made ALL the difference!

Clarice knew there were other parents who were probably experiencing the same trials, frustrations, and lack of resources that she had and sure enough there were more parents just like her! She began to attend special education trainings (locally and nationally), became a member of key disability organizations, collaborated and held trainings in the community, volunteered for Special Olympics, and begin to attend Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and Individual Family Service Plans (IFSP) and Transition Planning meetings with parents as a volunteer. She has over 2000 hours of Special Education Advocacy Training and is a Dyslexia Consultant with the ability to screen children for dyslexia.

In 2012, she Incorporated Voice Advocacy Center(VAC) as a nonprofit business because families of children in special education or those struggling with the impact of dyslexia had no available resources in the form of advocacy or dyslexia tutoring to assist them. VAC is an approved supplemental Educational Service Provider for the Nebraska Department of Education. Her passion to serve families of children with disabilities is to ensure that children receive “appropriate” education and receive an evidence-based method to address dyslexia.

Professional Affiliations

Clarice Jackson is the President and CEO of Voice Advocacy Center, Co-Founder of the L.E.A.R.N. Coalition which stands for the Liberate, Educate, and Reform Nebraska and the Founder of Decoding Dyslexia NE a nationwide parent support group created to raise awareness about dyslexia. She is a graduate of the SEAT-Special Education Advocacy Training program, which is the first and only Federally Funded Special Education Advocacy Program in the United States, A member of the Region VI Health and Human Services Developmental Disabilities Awareness Council for Douglas, Sarpy, Washington and Cass County, A board member of The Nebraska Association of Mental Illness (NAMI) The Nebraska Dyslexia Association, and the Phoenix Academy Private School, Educational Chair for the Omaha NAACP, The Special Education & Reading Committee Chair for the Omaha Public Schools- African American Achievement Council, and a newly appointed member of the Mayor’s Human Rights and Relations Advisory Board. She carries a host of other certifications and disability affiliations.

Our Vision

To provide special education advocacy services and dyslexia screening and tutoring services to ensure that the all children who learn differently receive a high quality education leading to college or career readiness!