Douglas County corrections director highlights GED graduations, staffing gains and treatment outcomes

Douglas County Director of Corrections Michael Myers told county commissioners on April 22 that his March report showed the jail operating under budget while continuing to expand educational and treatment services.

Myers said the department was $1,267,995 under budget following the ninth month of the fiscal year and that overtime costs totaled $340,403 for the period. He added that more than $1,000,000 in bond payments were processed by the records division and that 11 officers below the rank of sergeant and one sergeant left employment in March, including one retirement. A class of 26 new cadets began the academy the day before the meeting, Myers said, which he said should improve staffing through the summer.

The corrections department also described education and reentry programming. Heather Robinson, educational and vocational supervisor, said the GED program has a waitlist of 107 people with 72 active students and that the facility’s GED program produced 36 graduates over the past year. Robinson said the department offers a Google Classroom for students who are off-site, two vocational classes (electrical safety and forklift certification), a weekly writing group and a new book club. Karen Shelton, educational and vocational specialist, called the program “so much more than just teaching academics” and described individual student progress.

Former student Jonathan Bowles told commissioners, “I’m an alcoholic and a drug addict,” and described years of addiction, homelessness and repeated incarceration before entering Douglas County’s WRAP program and drug court. Bowles said the program and local treatment services helped him regain custody contact with his children and return to steady employment. His mother, Jan Bowles, said, “If it wasn’t for all of you that were mentioned here today, I’m quite confident my son would be dead or in prison,” and urged continued funding.

Myers provided additional operational data: 272 individuals were placed on pretrial release during March; 1,293 individuals were supervised on pretrial release; 541 participated in the 24/7 sobriety program; and 87 individuals were supervised via GPS leading to an estimated 4,323 bed days saved, which Myers said translates to a theoretical savings of $734,910 in detention costs. He reported 1,460 admissions in March (an increase of about 200 from the prior month), 1,383 releases, a high count of 1,055, a low count of 980, and an average daily population of 1,012 (a decrease of five). The overall average length of stay for inmates released in March was 22.5 days.

Myers also gave health and behavioral-health figures: 1,167 intake screenings, 370 physical/health assessments, 315 initial mental-health assessments, 107 suicide precautions and 205 individuals placed on drug-and-alcohol detox protocols. He said 52.3% of the jail population had a diagnosed mental illness and that 11 people were on a waitlist for the Lincoln Regional Center.

Commissioners asked for additional financial detail. Commissioner Friend asked for a follow-up report that breaks down the county dollars invested in the programs and the per-person annual cost to house someone in the Douglas County correction center; Myers agreed to provide more detailed cost and recidivism data at a future meeting. Commissioner Friend and others also asked about contraband and the difficulty of identifying fentanyl; Myers said the department currently sends suspected samples to an outside lab and noted interest in electronic substance‑identification equipment that could reduce risk to staff and narcotics-detection dogs.

Commissioners and staff also highlighted program outcomes. Myers said the sanctions and transitional centers placed 11 people in community corrections and that 5 individuals entered therapeutic community housing units in March. He said the department welcomed comedian and recovery advocate Mark Lundholm to speak to incarcerated individuals and community-corrections clients during the month.

The director closed by saying staff were prepared to provide additional metrics and to brief commissioners on vendor implementations for pretrial-release software and other data-capture improvements.

Ending: Commissioners thanked the guests and staff. Myers and program staff remained available for follow-up questions and said they would supply requested cost and recidivism breakdowns in future reports.