County attorney outlines three federal grants to expand juvenile and adult behavioral‑health services

County Attorney Gary Olson and Tristan Perry, the county’s newly named community enhancement director, briefed the Board of Commissioners on a set of federal grants the county has been awarded or applied for that aim to expand local mental‑health and diversion services for youth and adults.

Olson said the county has four related grant awards or applications and that one — a $100,000 award tied to a “reaching rural” initiative — becomes effective March 1. He said several of the other grants are already paying for positions that have been hired to begin implementation.

The nut graf: county staff said the grants — a youth justice/mental‑health planning award, a planning grant for a local continuum of care for youth, and a large adult services grant aimed at opioid and stimulant response — are designed to build prevention, diversion and intervention capacity and will rely on subawards to local and regional partners.

Olson and Perry described the programs and partners. Perry said the youth‑focused grants will fund planning and countywide assessment work to produce an implementation plan and improved coordination between schools, ESUs and county diversion programs. “Increase community youth and family collaboration” is one listed deliverable, he said, including formation of parent and youth advocacy groups and a countywide asset and gap assessment for youth services.

For adults, the county applied for or received funding under a program Olson and Perry described as the comprehensive opioid, stimulant and substance‑use (COSA) grant program; Perry said the COSA award the county sought totals about $1.3 million and focuses on adult diversion and peer support. Perry said the county plans to subaward portions to local partners, including the Well‑Being Initiative and 4 Corners Health Department, and to hire an adult services coordinator and peer support specialists so adults can get more immediate access to treatment and case management.

Olson and Perry told the board they have already been working with partner organizations, university centers (Center on Children, Families and the Law at UNL was named as a planned subrecipient for youth planning work) and nonprofit service providers. Perry said some initial funding (about 10 percent of each grant) has already been deposited in the county’s ASAP account and is available to begin planning and hiring.

Commissioners asked about fiscal controls, auditing expectations and whether the county needs to provide office space for new hires. Perry said the county is coordinating with the clerk’s and treasurer’s offices and plans to follow state and federal grant accounting rules. He said initial workspace is expected to be shared with existing county partners, and the county is discussing options such as colocating staff with a local 501(c)(3) partner rather than leasing new county office space.

Ending: Commissioners praised the grant work and urged staff to keep the board informed as subaward agreements, job hires and specific implementation timelines are finalized. Perry and Olson said they expect many programs to be in the implementation phase by March.