OPEN LETTER TO THE PUBLIC/MEDIA:
Where do you even start when the system is broken? I believe it is necessary to let the public know the day to day struggles that law enforcement agencies all across Nebraska face–especially when dealing with juveniles that know how to manipulate the system. Last week, the Stanton County Sheriff’s office dealt with a 16 year old female who threatened family members with a knife and then cut her brother while attempting to stab her step-mother during a physical altercation. The girl also received a cut injury and was transported to the hospital by ambulance to be treated and medically cleared before she could be evaluated by state probation for incarceration at the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) in Madison. She was taken to Faith Regional Health Services (FRHS) in Norfolk where I had a Sheriff’s deputy spend nearly five hours in the hospital guarding her before it was decided by medical staff that she should be kept overnight for observation. Note, we had every relevant agency (rare in itself)–Probation, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), County Attorney, Sheriff’s office, JDC and both biological parents in agreement that the girl needed to be and should be incarcerated on felony level charges as she has a history of being uncontrollable and defiant for more than a year in in three different states. Somehow overnight the FRHS staff decided that the girl was in greater need of safety and being incarcerated was not an option. FRHS when contacted the next morning by the Sheriff’s office, refused to to provide any information on the girl who we had placed a law enforcement hold on the night before. Not only would they not tell us anything, they were contacted by HHS who was working with the girls family and they would not share any information with that agency as to her status or anticipated release. Both biological parents were also unable to to get any information or even informed that she was in the hospital to the point the biological father tried to take custody and remove his daughter from FRHS and FRHS called state law enforcement on the father. As of this writing, some five days later, my office has still not been contacted or ever notified by FRHS as to the status or location of the 16 year old girl who was taken to FRHS at our request for medical treatment and clearance only. Both biological parents have never been directly advised by FRHS as to where their daughter currently is. FRHS even questioned the rights of the biological mother as she lives in a nother state. The parents and Sheriff’s office now know that the girl was ultimately transferred to a Kearney hospital by another state agency, only because of notification by outside resources. Our request of information has fallen on deaf ears from FRHS and at what point do they decide they know best without even consulting the agency that has dealt with this juvenile offender as well as being well aware of the dynamics of the dysfunctional family setting and previous violent outburst. Simply put, the juvenile justice system and response to juvenile offenders that have mental health needs is a broken system in need of dire intervention. FRHS refuses to accept placement of any person under age 19 if they are found to be in a mental health crisis, even though they are funded by tax dollars from every county in northeast Nebraska through Region 4 services through a contract to care for mental health crisis cases. Where are we supposed to go? Small agencies, sucha s the Stanton County Sheriff’s office, does not have the means, manpower, or ability to just drop everything and take juveniles half way across the state at all hours. We have no legal jurisdiction or authority at the hospital that lies in Madison County. Maybe the legislature should look into these issues and find a solution instead of focusing on less pressing and trivial matters. Thanks to a former Governor who decided to close all the Regional Centers (where we used to take all mental health and criss patients) before implementing a sound solution other than have local authorities take over community care that is most often unavailable. Kids are not stupid and they know the system well as we found out again today (August 19th) at the scene of another physical disturbance involving a totally different 16 year old female girl who grabbed a knife and threatened her mother and another teen at a rural Stanton location near Norfolk. After we physically restrained this uncontrollable girl as she refused to cooperate, what is the first thing she says is she is going to harm herself if we try to incarcerate her. So here we go again, if we take her to FRHS we get the usual run around and no services due to her age. Maybe or maybe not we get her detained at the JDC if state probation allows it after conducting their required rating evaluation. Do we just leave and hope for the best that no one gets hurt? Fortunately on this occasion her father steps up and agrees to drive his daughter to an Omaha hospital that will serve those under age 19 in crisis. I know from my many years of service that every law enforcement officer wants to help those in need and will go the extra mile to do so. The simple point of all this is what are we supposed to do with a broken system and little to no cooperation from those that make these rules and decisions at the top? A vast majority of law enforcement officers are not trained social workers, guidance counselors, or mental health specialist. Law Enforcement is often placed in these no win situations and more often we become babysitters in a system that needs a major overhaul that should begin with a place to take mentally ill juveniles in Northeast Nebraska. I share this so that you the citizens we serve know what’s going on in our “Broken System” and we can get the help these juveniles need before it’s to late.
STANTON COUNTY SHERIFF MIKE UNGER