Addressing Nebraska’s Prison System
Posted By: Nicole Cousins
ncousins@klkntv.com
The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services knows its prisons are overcrowded.
A part of it might be those ex–convicts who end up back in prison, so they just wrapped up a six month study to see whether prison programs are effective.
Bree Derrick of the Council of State Governments headed up the assessment, which was paid for by the federal government.
She says they’ve visited prisons in many states, and Nebraska has some of the best, state of the art programs in the country.
Programs that reduce the risk of criminal acts like sex and substance abuse.
But what corrections doesn’t have is the staff to carry out those programs effectively.
And it’s a problem director Scott Frakes isn’t sure he has the answer to.
The justice center says the best way keep convicts from offending again is to start programming as soon as possible, and to have the right personnel leading those efforts.
The problem is, the clinical staff Nebraska’s prisons currently have is small, and they’re spread too thin.
Frakes says his case workers often have to cover different shifts for other workers, and don’t have enough time to do their own jobs.
But it’s not just staffing, funding could also be an issue.
Millions of dollars are already pumped into the prison system each year, and state leaders say improving risk–reducing programs might mean more money.
Despite the potential price, officials say fixing the problem is a high priority, so inmates can stop being released without parole, and start their life out of prison on the right foot.
Frakes says this was just the first step in fixing the problem, and anticipates it will be a few more years before the system is where they want it to be.
