Associated Press
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska’s corrections director is reviewing a plan that would concentrate more mental health services at a state prison in Lincoln.
Director Scott Frakes told lawmakers Tuesday that having mental health services scattered throughout the state isn’t an effective use of resources.
The plan would increase the number of residential mental health beds at the Lincoln Correctional Center, while reducing beds at the state prison in Tecumseh.
Frakes says the Department of Correctional Services needs to house offenders based on their treatment needs so it’s easier for them to access services. The state has struggled to fill mental-health specialist jobs outside of Lincoln and Omaha.
Frakes says it’s too early to know whether he needs money that was set aside for behavioral health services, an assertion that some lawmakers challenged.