Lincoln Journal Star

Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Heavican was direct with state senators when he delivered his State of the Judiciary address last week: Nebraska needs to address significant challenges presented by mental health issues of those who have been caught up in the state’s judicial system.

The Legislature has, of late, increased mental health provider reimbursement rates. But, Heavican said, the need for providers — particularly 24-hour care facilities for the mentally ill — remains unfilled. That makes county jails the default 24-hour facilities, to the benefit of neither the jails or those confined there.

Even more critical, Heavican said, is the long-standing problem of mental health competency determinations for criminal defendants to stand trial.

“The Lincoln Regional Center currently has a six-month backlog to perform such evaluations,” Heavican said. “This problem has festered for years and needs a resource supplement.”

Heavican didn’t specify a dollar amount for that supplement. But, no matter its size, it would be a relatively small investment of state funds that would go far to end the evaluation backlog and allow the court system to function more fairly and faster. It should be provided for in the biennial budget that the Legislature is required to approve this year.

That kind of investment can pay off for taxpayers, as has been the case in the state’s probation system.

Utilizing evidence-based practices and innovative programs that have brought national acclaim to the state for transforming its probation administration, the Nebraska Supreme Court has been able to return $35 million to the state general fund in the last two budget cycles thanks to efficient management of adult and juvenile probation.

The use of probation rather than incarceration also saves the state thousands for each convicted person in the system. Specifically, Heavican said, the average cost of supervision for an adult on probation is $5,500 per year compared with $42,000 for incarceration. With some 14,000 adults on probation in Nebraska every day, that’s a lot of cash saved.

To that end, Heavican suggested adding a veterans treatment court in Sarpy County and a drug court in Platte County and noted that the mental health court in Sarpy County and DUI court in Lancaster County experienced their first graduations during the past year.

Those alternative courts have proven to be effective in addressing the behavior that has brought people into the system, getting them treatment and programming and keeping them out of the state’s overcrowded corrections system. They, as Heavican suggested, should be expanded wherever possible for the benefit of the courts, those in the system and the taxpayers.

This editorial first appeared in the Lincoln Journal Star on March 2, 2023. It was distributed by The Associated Press.