Douglas County approves 2026 community support services contract; questions raised about no-show billing

Douglas County commissioners voted to approve a 2026 contract for community support services that provides drop-in services and individualized community support for people with serious and persistent mental illness. The board approved the contract after a motion and second; the motion carried in a roll-call vote.

During discussion, a county staff member explained there were no changes to the contract and described the program as serving people who “might not have access to those services if they're not, like, on medical assistance.” A commissioner asked whether the county has difficulty collecting the stated no-show fee of $30 plus travel and time. The staff member confirmed no-shows occur and that “sometimes people are not as interested in the service,” and said collection can be difficult. The staff member provided recent spending as context: “over the last couple of years, this last year from November to November, we spent 32,500, with vendor with vendor. And then, the year before that ... just under that 28,200.”

When asked whether the county places a cap on that service, staff said there is no cap because the county is required to provide the services and some contracts — particularly those related to child protection and reunification — are hard to cap without undermining providers’ ability to comply with state and federal law. The staff described a prior contract with a cap that “was creating difficulties for the service provider to even provide reunify, which is state and federal law.”

After the discussion a commissioner moved to approve the contract for 2026, a second was recorded, and the clerk called the roll. The motion carried.

The board did not amend the contract during the meeting. Next steps are routine: the approved contract will proceed according to county procurement and contracting processes.