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Janousek, nominated to lead Nebraska Division of Behavioral Health, highlights crisis centers, CCBHC rollout and opioid settlement funds
Summary
Dr. Thomas Janousek told the Health and Human Services Committee he will build on recent behavioral-health initiatives, including implementation of certified community behavioral health clinics (CCBHCs), use of opioid settlement funds for capital projects, crisis stabilization centers and expansion of mobile crisis and 988 services.
Dr. Thomas Janousek, nominee to serve as director of the Division of Behavioral Health at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, told the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee that his priorities include expanding crisis capacity, implementing the certified community behavioral health clinic model and using opioid settlement funds to build residential and crisis infrastructure.
“I am a Nebraskan native born and raised in Lincoln,” Janousek said in opening remarks, describing his clinical training, doctorate in clinical psychology and experience overseeing clinical operations and quality at community behavioral health systems.
Committee members questioned Janousek at length about region-level service reductions, housing supports for people leaving treatment, bed capacity and strategies to reduce repeated crisis contacts. Janousek said the division has been working with regions — including Region 4 — to adjust contracts and distribute housing funds supported by a documentary stamp tax-funded housing cash fund.
Janousek described opioid settlement funds and a 2024 legislative change (LB 1355) as opening new opportunities to use settlement revenue for capital projects. “One of the things that’s unique about this funding source … we are allowed to use this funding source to actually build buildings and use capital expenditure,” he said. He said the division is exploring standing up more crisis stabilization centers and residential withdrawal-management capacity using those funds.
The nominee discussed the state’s rollout of CCBHCs, saying his office remains closely involved in implementation and provider troubleshooting. Janousek said the division conducts regular “office hours” with selected providers and is coordinating with the Division of Medicaid on implementation details.
Lawmakers pressed him on provider funding, rate stability and workforce distribution in rural areas. Janousek said Nebraska’s Medicaid behavioral-health rates are “some of the highest in the country” for core services but acknowledged providers still request increases. He emphasized administrative changes and targeted supports — such as transportation assistance, incentive programs and National Health Service Corps partnerships — as steps to improve access in rural areas.
On crisis response, Janousek highlighted the state’s 988 service and mobile crisis capacity. He said 988 responded to more than 20,000 people in the last year and that only about 2% of those calls resulted in deployment of a mobile crisis team — a statistic he presented as evidence that phone-based crisis diversion can reduce on-the-ground responses. Janousek said the state is planning more mobile crisis teams tied to CCBHCs and other clinics and described technology partnerships with law enforcement as one model his team has used in prior work.
Janousek also described planned services for people with serious mental illness, including work on a 1915(i) waiver to build in-home supports and case-management structures intended to reduce repeated facility admissions and improve continuity of care.
He closed by listing existing behavioral-health resources — a statewide same-day access website, the 988 line and a no-cost naloxone distribution program — and said he would continue to work with providers to remove barriers to care. The transcript does not record a committee vote on his confirmation.
