Stop Proposed Relocation of Nebraska YRTC Facilities 

Nebraska has a duty to keep youth in our justice system safe, healthy, and supported with programming that helps them grow and thrive. A system that keeps young people and communities safe must include thoughtful planning for any youth facilities.

Unfortunately, this year, we have grave concerns about a series of proposed moves as they appear within Governor Pillen’s budget proposal, and the way the state is approaching them. These proposed moves are underpinned by a bill that is moving out of the Health and Human Services committee, in AM 2270 to LB 867.

Under the plan:
• The boys currently committed to YRTC-Kearney would move to what is currently a youth prison in Omaha, the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility (NCYF)
• The girls currently committed to YRTC-Hastings would move to YRTC-Kearney
• The teens currently receiving treatment at Whitehall, a campus in Lincoln for kids with substance use disorders and sexually harmful behaviors, would move to YRTC-Hastings
• The youth currently at the Nebraska Youth Correctional Facility would move to the Reception and Treatment
Center, an adult prison in Lincoln
• DHHS would vacate Whitehall

These moves would impact approximately 120 Nebraska youth each year. DHHS has indicated if approved the agencies would push forward swiftly, with all the moves completed by end of 2026.

Youth Safety and Stability Should Come First

Sudden transfers increase trauma and instability, for young people who are statistically likely to have already experienced significant trauma and disruption in their lives. Disruption in mental health care, education, and case planning can cause long-term harm. Rapid restructuring this way also seems likely to lead to staffing shortages and potentially unsafe conditions. 

We are particularly worried about an increased risk of overuse or misuse of room confinement for youth transferring from YRTC Kearney to NCYF. Because the NCYF building utilizes individual rooms that lock, there is heightened concern that room confinement could be used as a behavior management tool rather than relying on developmentally appropriate, therapeutic interventions that promote regulation, accountability, and growth. 

Destabilization contributes to lack of meaningful rehabilitation, possibility of reoffense, and thus diminishes future community safety.  

Education Must Not Be Disrupted

Youth in state custody are entitled to quality education. The proposed transfers may result in lost credits, IEP interruptions, delays in graduation, and loss of programming such as community service projects and vocational classes

Education is one of the strongest protective factors against reoffending, and system reorganization cannot come at the expense of learning.

Major System Changes Require Transparency 

Ultimately, no comprehensive public transition plan has been fully vetted. Stakeholders, including families and youth, have had limited or no meaningful input. There has been insufficient public reporting on staffing models, safety benchmarks, or cost comparisons, much less racial and gender equity impact or results for the overarching goal of youth and community safety.  

Large-scale restructuring of youth services demands public processes and accountability.

Nebraska Values and Investment

At its core, this is a question of values and investment. Nebraska’s young people are worth sustained, thoughtful investment, but they deserve the right investment.

To date, the state has not conducted a comprehensive, long term, systemwide evaluation demonstrating a meaningful return on investment for the YRTC model in terms of youth rehabilitation, public safety, or long-term outcomes. Likewise, we have no such model for how the proposed changes would improve any of the foregoing.

Meanwhile, other states have shown measurable success by shifting away from large scale, correctional institutions toward smaller, community based, treatment-oriented models that prioritize rehabilitation and family connection.

Advancing this plan without rigorous study, transparent analysis, or meaningful public input is not only premature, it would be irresponsible policymaking that risks entrenching a system that evidence increasingly shows is ineffective for young people and communities alike

Action Items:  

Join us and our coalition partners at a press conference on Tuesday, March 10 at noon in the State Capitol rotunda opposing the provisions in AM 2270 and the budget package.

Then reach out to your senator to encourage them to:

1. Strike the portions of AM 2270 that permit this change this year, and keep this move out of the budget. 
2. Introduce or support an interim study in the Nebraska Legislature examining the project plan. 
3. Require a comprehensive, public transition plan with stakeholder input and safety benchmarks. 
4. Ensure continuity of education, mental health care, and family access for youth before any transfers occur. 
5. Establish legislative oversight, a meaningful mechanism for evaluation of the YRTC system and rehabilitative goals, and phased implementation of any identified plan to move youth.