Behavioral Health Jail Diversion Program of Lancaster County/Douglas County Mental Health Diversion Program

Behavioral Health Jail Diversion Programs are growing in scope and availability throughout the country. Currently, programs are available within Douglas and Lancaster counties in Nebraska.

The goal of Jail Diversion Programs is to divert individuals with a serious mental illness or co-occurring substance abuse disorder who are in jail for nonviolent, misdemeanor crimes or who have had multiple law enforcement contacts in the community, to the local behavioral health system.

Not only does the program stop the “revolving door” for individuals who are successfully diverted, it further allows the individual to become engaged in needed treatment services, assures their civil rights, and improves their safety and quality of life. Jail diversion allows law enforcement additional time to investigate more serious crimes, provides jails opportunity for more appropriate usage of their beds, invests tax dollars in solutions, and returns federal tax dollars to Nebraska to benefit its residents.

For additional information please contact Cindi Boganowski, Project Director of the Douglas County Mental Health Diversion Program, at (402) 599-2338 or via email at cboganowski@co.douglas.ne.us or Travis Parker, Project Director of the Behavioral Health Jail Diversion Program of Lancaster County at (402) 441-6610 or via email at tparker@ci.lincoln.ne.us.