Douglas County Corrections Center (DCCC)

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Douglas County Corrections negotiates pay raise to address staffing crisis

For years, Douglas County Corrections has struggled with a staffing crisis. A recent contract negotiation at the state level put them even further down in pay levels. The county and corrections officers agreed to open their contract early to address wages and it's working. The contract was set to run through 2024, but corrections director Mike Myers asked to open it early to negotiate wages. He said after the state pay went into effect his agency was purging officers. This new contract has already put a dent in their low staffing levels.

"It was pretty it was a vicious cycle that we were caught in,” said Director of Corrections Mike Myers. Douglas County Director of Corrections Mike Myers said his department has faced unimaginable staffing issues. "We were probably close to 70 officers short out of an authorized strength of 408. So there was a lot of stress on our staff and a lot of pressure,” Myers said. That forced mandatory overtime.

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Officials: New Douglas Co. mental health facility will positively impact county jail population

Marlo Lundak
The new mental health facility that has been in the works in Douglas County for several months, is getting closer to more definitive plans.

Next month, county commissioners are expected to see results from feasibility studies to help determine the type of facility the county builds.

Douglas County’s Director of Corrections says the facility will greatly impact the work they do at the jail.

Of the nearly 1,100 inmates in the jail...

“Recently around 40% or more of our population is diagnosed with a mental illness, and about half of those around 20% are typically diagnosed with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder,” says Michael Myers, the corrections director.
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That’s one of the reasons why the Douglas County board is using $55 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to build a new mental health facility that will accommodate the community as well as the jail population.
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Feasibility studies are being done on two options for building a new facility.

The first option is building one co-located facility that accommodates both inmates and community members. The building would be on or near the jail’s current campus.

The second option is building two separate facilities: one being an addition to the north side of the jail, and the other being the community facility, with the possibility of it being built where the Trailways bus station currently sits.

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Douglas County Board could vote Tuesday on plans for $60M mental health facilities in downtown Omaha

Christopher Burbach
A resolution scheduled for a vote Tuesday would move Douglas County much closer to building two new mental health treatment facilities, for an estimated $60 million, in downtown Omaha.

The proposal on the County Board agenda calls for erecting two new structures near the Douglas County Jail. One new building, to be constructed at 1601 Jackson St., would become the new home of the Douglas County Community Mental Health Center, which is currently housed inside the county’s long-term care center at 4102 Woolworth Ave. The county also would build a mental health unit that would be connected to the jail. The proposal also calls for a parking garage.

The county would use $58 million in federal pandemic recovery and relief funds to pay for the project. That consists of $50 million from the county’s 2022 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allotment, and $8 million in CARES Act funding, according to the resolution. The remaining cost would come from the county’s general fund.
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There has been substantial debate on the topic, and that is likely to continue Tuesday. Board member Jim Cavanaugh has pressed the board to consider an alternative plan involving renovations of the Douglas County Health Center building, and in the jail. He said it would be less expensive.

Locating community mental health near the jail would stigmatize the treatment, Cavanaugh said. His proposal calls for using a consortium including the county, University of Nebraska Medical Center and the VA Medical Center.

Board member Roger Garcia, who declined to comment Monday on which way he’s leaning, said the vote is unlikely to be unanimous. Garcia, whose district includes the area in question, said the board had talked about five options during its multiple meetings on the topic.

Possible site plan:

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Douglas County mental health center off the table for now

The plan before the Douglas County Board of Commissioners Tuesday called for relocating the former mental health center and building a new facility on 16th and Jackson, yards from Douglas County Corrections, along with constructing a separate mental health unit that would connect to the jail.
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Douglas County Commissioner Jim Cavanaugh told his colleagues the plan isn’t compliant without checking other options. He wants to look at upgrading current facilities on the county’s campus near 42nd and Woolworth and taking time to perhaps procure more financial help from the private sector, local hospitals, and state government.

“I’ve also been informed that senators and the governor are very interested in helping us out with some state dollars on behavioral health, which wouldn’t be available until next year, of course, because the session is winding down as we speak,” he said.

Commissioner PJ Morgan proposed a change to go ahead with the facility connected to the jail for inmates and find additional parking around the facility.

When the dust settled, the commissioners struck down the current plan to give Morgan until next week to come up with a new proposal that basically cuts out a new community mental health facility next to the jail. This upset board chair Mary Ann Borgeson.

“The state had the opportunity to provide regions and counties with an influx of dollars for services, and they took a U-turn,” Borgeson said. “So I’m real tired of everybody thinking that, because we have an issue, it’s mental illness, but when it comes to really addressing it, we take a run.”

TLDR folks; community mental health center may not be by the jail, but a corrections center mental health facility could still be built at the campus.

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What's next for Douglas County's proposed mental health center



Douglas County Commissioners are weighing what's next for the proposed mental health facility.

Douglas County commissioners deciding what's next for mental health care



Douglas County leaders are again pushing for solutions for long-term mental health care in the county.

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Douglas County Board backs estimated $33 million mental health unit addition to Omaha jail

Christopher Burbach
Douglas County will move forward toward building a mental health treatment unit connected to the county jail in downtown Omaha, and put plans for a new Community Mental Health Center on ice.

The County Board voted Tuesday to direct county staff to initiate a capital improvement project for building the addition to the Douglas County Jail, 710 S. 17th St. Typically that means seeking architects and contractors to design and build a project, with contracts being put out for bid and then requiring County Board approval.

A preliminary estimate by a consultant puts the cost of the building at about $33 million, plus an unspecified amount for building a parking garage or more surface parking. The money would come out of the $50 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds that the County Board earmarked for mental health projects.

The addition is meant to address the chronic and growing problem of large numbers of people with mental illness in the Douglas County Jail, often with misdemeanor offenses.