Douglas County Youth Center report: admissions fell, but long stays and placement delays persist

County staff and community partners told the Douglas County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 13 that admissions to the Douglas County Youth Center (DCYC) fell in 2025 but that long lengths of stay and delays finding post‑detention placements remain a key problem.

Dr. Abby Carbaugh, presenting DCYC’s 2025 year‑end data, said the facility recorded 637 admissions in 2025, with about 10% (67) admitted on adult charges and the remainder largely in juvenile court. She reported an average daily population of about 86 for 2025 and said the annual average time to release was roughly 69 days; December’s average rose sharply because several youth charged as adults had long stays (Carbaugh said seven adult-charge releases averaged about 307 days in detention). Carbaugh also said Black youth accounted for 55% of DCYC admissions in 2025 while white youth made up 23% and Hispanic youth 15%.

Carbaugh told the board that as of Jan. 12 there were 11 DCYC youth awaiting placement; the average waiting time for those youth was about 32 days. She explained that pending placements vary (shelter for short-term stabilization, group home for longer-term congregate care, and psychiatric residential treatment when clinically necessary) and that placement availability among partner agencies — many of them private nonprofits — can create delays. Carbaugh said DCYC is tracking approved placements and noted several youth have been in the facility for a year or longer (the presentation listed 12 youth with stays of one year or more and seven who had been detained longer than six months).

Commissioners pressed for operational and policy responses. Several asked whether probation can reevaluate placement recommendations to move youth more quickly; DCYC Superintendent Rhondie Woodard said court orders and probation authority drive placement decisions but added the facility is developing a staff role and improved communication with probation to support case reevaluations. Commissioner Borgeson asked who is responsible for daily follow up on placements; Carbaugh said probation officers manage placement work, while DCYC staff are building programs to better share information with probation.

Community providers urged better use of new local services and stronger engagement from probation. Tamika Meese of the North Omaha Community Partnership described a case of a 17‑year‑old who returned from a youth treatment center to no stable housing or utilities and said her group receives few probation referrals despite being able to provide wraparound supports. Roscoe Wallace of Viable Healing described work inside DCYC that has reduced violence and increased community visiting; Terry Crawford (defense counsel and NAACP vice president) stressed upstream services for non‑English speakers and faster competency evaluations.

The board discussed policy ideas including creating threshold triggers (for example, a report when a youth has waited 15–20 days for placement) and tracking indicators that could prompt reevaluation. No formal changes to detention policy or binding directives to probation were adopted at the meeting; the board invited further follow‑up and staff said they would continue developing communication protocols with probation and community partners.

Board members and presenters agreed the core problems are placement capacity and interagency coordination rather than DCYC’s day‑to‑day operations. The review concluded with the board thanking staff and community partners and moving on to other agenda items.