Comprehensive Youth Services Plan Reveals Worsening Mental Health Crisis

By Gordon HopkinsA lack of resources, a lack of information about resources that do exist, a lack of participation by stakeholders, and above all, drugs and alcohol, are contributing to an ongoing and ever-worsening mental health crisis. That is according to Peggy Galloway, Jefferson County Diversion Services Director, who prepared the Jefferson and Thayer Counties Comprehensive Youth Services Plan.Galloway presented her findings at a meeting of the Jefferson County Commissioners on Tuesday, November 26, 2024. She explained, “So we started in April, per requirement of the Crime Commission through state statutes, that we have to, every community has to, do a four year plan.”Drugs and AlcoholUnsurprisingly, Galloway cited drugs and alcohol as the primary source of mental heath issues. She told commissioners, “Ninety-five percent of the child abuse and neglect cases, there’s always drugs and alcohol involved.”In her report, she wrote, “As with every other county across the country, the majority of the problems in our community stem from drug and alcohol use in some capacity. When parents are in addiction, we see more cases of child abuse and neglect. The ripple effect of this is mental health issues of the children such as anxiety and depression which leads to truancy, behavior problems at school and sometimes drug and alcohol use as well as illegal activities within the community. Other contributing factors are generational poverty and abuse, limited local resources and knowledge as to how to access those resources, and lack of accountability and responsibility of the parents.”It is Galloway’s contention that, “30-day treatment centers aren’t enough. Long-term recovery programs (9 – 12 months or more) have a better outcome when combined with continued support groups (peers, AA, NA, etc.). We have no local treatment centers.”How the Mental Health Crisis Impacts CountiesThe plan identifies numerous ways in which the failure to address mental health issues can negatively impact counties. The most obvious is the increased costs for law enforcement, emergency medical services, jail services, transporting inmates, public defenders, attorneys, attendance support, diversion and pretrial release programs, county and district court staff. Galloway’s report noted a, “Revolving door of offenders – high-rate recidivism. Lack of agencies who can help those with SUD (Substance Abuse Disorder) and mental illness that have committed a crime.”There are increased costs to the department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to address child abuse and neglect. There are increased costs to schools for behavioral programs, extra paras and therapists.By the NumbersAccording to the The Nebraska Legislative Research Office’s Counties At-A-Glance 2023 report, Jefferson County ranks 21 out of 93 counties for arrests, citations or summons. In 2021 and 2022, Jefferson County had 790 county court cases for adults and 27 cases for juveniles. District court had 161 cases. The total comes to 978 cases.The Research Office’s numbers also show: Jefferson County has 9.5 percent of the population on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). 2022-2023 Fairbury Public Schools had 56 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Children in Jefferson County received the highest percentage of Medicaid/SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) coverage in the BVCA (Blue Valley Community Action) area at 34.6 percent. Jefferson County has 15.3 percent of the population (1,068) on Medicaid. Many providers of all types have limited spaces for Medicaid patients due to low and extremely slow reimbursement rates. Jefferson County shows the lowest Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System scores in ELA (English Language Arts) 39 percent, Math 40.70 percent and Science 62.70 percent. Fairbury Public Schools: ELA 39 percent, ACT Math 46 percent, ACT Science 53 percent.Not all the costs can be measured in dollars. Galloway pointed out, “The largest cost that we can’t put numbers to is the cost to the children of Jefferson County. The trauma that living in a drug endangered home causes to the kids living there and all that goes with it, as well as the ones who do not live in it but are affected by being exposed to the behaviors at school and in the community is more damaging than most people realize.”In her report, Galloway expressed concern that these safety net programs may be doing more harm than good, “We can only help those who are willing to help themselves. Continually giving free (or greatly reduced) housing, medical care, and services only enables the behaviors (substance use, criminal activity) that keep individuals from bettering themselves and their families. It becomes an expectation to receive more and more without any accountability or responsibility.”Galloway was blunt in her assessment, “With no interventions, the mental health deteriorates and eventually leads into the judicial system in one form or another.”No Central Database of ResourcesOne problem Galloway cited at the meeting is that, while many resources exists to help those in need, those people who need them often don’t know they exist or how to find them. She told commissioners, “We have resources here. People just don’t know what they are. They don’t know how to access them. If they try to access them, and they get shoved around in this loop, they just give up.”Lack of Participation“This time was different. There was an entire manual of requirements input that was supposed to be given by all the different organizations that they listed out,” said Galloway, her frustration regarding a lack of participation was evident. “So, I put together the team, sent out 40 email invitations. I got 20 people saying that they would participate. Of those 20 people, I was lucky to get 10, maybe.”Priorities“The priorities we identified to address are Reduction of Criminal Activity of Youth to include Drug and Alcohol Use and Reduction of Truancy. We will continue to develop wrap-around services with local and regional organizations to enable families to learn tools to assist in making good decisions, obtaining treatment for substance use, implement supportive programs to maintain sobriety and develop more support programs for our youth,” Galloway wrote.The Comprehensive Youth Services Plan presented by Galloway is preliminary. The final version still has to be approved by the Crime Commission.

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