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Douglas County clears $1.36 million in state juvenile prevention grants; auditors to monitor program outcomes
Summary
Douglas County approved $1,363,751 in state-funded community-based juvenile prevention grants for the July 2025-June 2026 grant year, with contracts requiring monthly program reporting and annual fiscal and program audits.
On June 10 the Douglas County Board of Commissioners approved consent-agenda items (items E1 through E13, with E1 tabled until attachments are available) that allocate $1,363,751 in state community-based grant funds for prevention and early-intervention services for youth involved or at risk of involvement with the juvenile justice system.
Deputy County Administrator Kim Havocati told the board the grants are funded by the State of Nebraska under a community-based prevention program and that Douglas County will receive $1,363,751 for the grant cycle beginning July 1, 2025 and ending June 30, 2026. Havocati described a competitive, three-step grant process that opens to providers in the community; contracts require monthly program data reporting, annual fiscal audits, and annual programmatic reviews to confirm services are delivered to intended youth and to assess effectiveness. She said some contracts provide scholarship funding for juveniles in diversion who could not otherwise pay for services.
Commissioners asked for a consolidated summary of all county grants and the overall funding that supports juvenile prevention work; Havocati said she would resend the grant list and that the county's federal grants total near $8 million including prevention funds. She also confirmed the county uses no general-fund dollars for the grants themselves other than administrative staff time to manage the process.
During the consent-agenda vote a number of members of the public spoke in opposition to the overall grant approach, arguing local control concerns and criticizing federal and state funding priorities; these comments occurred during the public comment period prior to the consent vote. The board approved the consent items for the grants (minus E1, which was tabled for missing documents) on a 7-0 voice vote.
Ending: The board approved $1.36 million in state-funded juvenile prevention allocations for the July 2025-June 2026 grant year, and commissioners asked staff for a consolidated grant inventory and funding summary for countywide prevention spending.
