LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) — The Nebraska Office of the Inspector General for Child Welfare (OIG) oversees state programs for children, providing investigative oversight to ensure transparency.
Their annual report is nearly 70 pages of analysis into how the Department of Health and Human Services is serving Nebraska’s children.
This latest report covers July 2024 through June 2025.
Among the findings was a 110% increase in the amount of hours Nebraska’s youth are being kept in solitary confinement and a slight increase in child deaths, raising the number of pending mandatory investigations by the OIG’s office to 32.
A consistently high number of youths are being committed to Nebraska’s three Youth Regional Treatment Centers, approaching the limit of each facility’s capacity and leading to an increase of assaults on staff.
Inspector General for Child Welfare Jennifer Carter said they investigated five assaults on staff by youth at Lincoln’s facility with four occurring in a three-week period.
Carter said it’s a problem the legislature might have to address to make sure these YRTCs have the resources they need.
CenterPointe Crisis Services Director Ashley Chism explained the approach to youth mental health treatment is different, and the need for services is high.
“That is definitely a need. Sometimes there’s no place for these youth to go, and parents and families just kind of need that break,” Chism said. “And there’s nowhere for them to go and nowhere, no way for them to get respite from each other.”
CenterPointe is starting Square One, a program that will bring four more respite youth beds to Lincoln.
The OIG’s report also showed three children were committed by the courts this year to the Lincoln Regional Center, which is an adult facility.
Carter reiterated her office believes the Lincoln Regional Center is doing what they can to keep juveniles separate from adults, but sending children there shows there is a gap in the continuum of care.
“What I think it really speaks to, though, is judges are sometimes in the position where there isn’t a juvenile service or facility that can serve some of these youth who have more serious psychiatric needs,” Carter said.
She added there is no desire to institutionalize children unnecessarily, but they’ve asked the legislature previously to look at potentially adding a youth facility in the state.
“I don’t imagine it would have to be large,” Carter said. “But we are missing a significant service for these very high-need youth.”
A link to the full report can be found by clicking here.
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