Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Corrections Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Department of Corrections details ICE revenue, facility changes and youth relocation plan; advocates press safeguards
Summary
Corrections Director Rob Jeffreys updated the committee on staffing pressures, capital projects and a new McCook ICE contract that has generated $4.4M so far; he described a proposal to repurpose the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility and consolidate youth into other treatment capacity, while advocates warned of risks to minors moved into adult settings.
Rob Jeffreys, director of the Nebraska Department of Corrections, outlined staffing and capital priorities and defended several mid‑biennium adjustments in the governor’s proposal. Jeffreys said recruitment and retention remain challenging for behavioral‑health clinicians and physicians, noted the agency’s vacancy rates and described efficiency moves including closed civilian positions, fleet reductions and a holiday staffing schedule to cut overtime.
Jeffreys reported that the McCook Detention Center has been converted to accept ICE detainees and that the department had received about $4.4 million from that agreement as of February 1. He also updated the committee on construction of the replacement Nebraska State Penitentiary (Arbor Correctional site), which he said remains on schedule for 2028 and where utilities and foundations are in progress.
A major policy point was the proposed repurposing of the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility (NCYF) as a Department of Health and Human Services youth rehabilitation and treatment center. Jeffreys said NCYF had a large physical footprint (141 beds) but a very small youth population (roughly 15 youth by statute who must be separated), producing a high per‑person operating cost (he estimated roughly $150,000 per person at NCYF versus about $55,000 per person at a facility such as Tecumseh). He estimated annual savings in the tens of millions by consolidating youth populations into other residential treatment capacity and reassigning staff and services.
Outside advocates and civil‑liberties groups pressed the committee for details and safeguards before moving youth into adult facilities or consolidating services. Witnesses cited national research showing youth in adult corrections face higher risks of victimization and worse outcomes, and they asked for commitments on educational continuity, separation from adults and preservation of rehabilitative services. The Inspector General of Corrections provided a neutral briefing on the vocational life skills reentry grant program and offered to supply the committee with grantee lists and program details.
Committee senators raised questions about timelines for decommissioning old facilities, precise dollar amounts spent on the new penitentiary to date, where displaced McCook inmates were relocated and how programmatic continuity will be ensured for youth moved between facilities. Jeffreys agreed to provide follow‑up details on costs, transition plans and census breakdowns.
