Union members have united to oppose a plan in the Governor’s proposed budget that would harm vulnerable youth that our members serve at 24-hour youth facilities.
Under the Governor’s proposal, the Whitehall Campus in Lincoln would close. Whitehall youth would move to the YRTC-Hastings campus, Hastings youth would move to YRTC-Kearney, and Kearney youth would move to the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility in Omaha. NCYF would become a DHHS facility. Some YRTC-Lincoln youth may be transferred to other facilities as part of the proposed changes. Carleen Kinney-Brown, an Administrative Specialist and NAPE/AFSCME member at Whitehall takes great pride in the care our members provide to the youth. “Whitehall is not a prison, it’s a home,” said Kinney-Brown.
In order to move youth between DHHS facilities, state law must be changed. LB1013 is the bill that the legislature is considering in order to allow the proposed changes. Union members united to oppose the bill at a hearing before the Legislature’s Health & Human Services Committee.
NAPE/AFSCME member Rolf Holbrook, a Behavioral Health Practitioner at Whitehall said, “We have a higher therapist to client ratio due to the demands of our program. When you compare a PRTF level program and requirements to the other programs, they aren’t equal. If the move happens, basically everyone in Whitehall loses their jobs. You’re going to move a population to facilities that don’t have the same level of experience for providing those services.”
NAPE/AFSCME members are passionate about the frontline services they provide to vulnerable youth. In addition to the uncertainty surrounding employment opportunities for staff and potential relocation, the passage of this bill would be incredibly disruptive to the youth that are in state custody in these facilities.
“My biggest concern is for the stability of the youth. There hasn’t been enough thought and planning to make this a smooth transition,” said NAPE/AFSCME member Kimberly Vargas.
Miranda Karn, a NAPE/AFSCME member and Behavioral Practitioner at Whitehall, understands how this will impact youth in state custody, not only at Whitehall but across Nebraska. “Over half of our therapists have over five years of experience working with this population. The state is going to lose that experience. It’ll be a disservice to the youth and it’ll be a disservice to the community,” she said.
The hearing for LB1013 lasted several hours, with dozens of testifiers coming out in opposition to the bill. We have also been lobbying our senators to educate them on the problems with this legislation. You can watch a recording of the hearing here.
On February 27, the Legislature’s HHS Committee amended LB867 on a 5-2 vote to insert the provisions of LB103 into LB867. LB867 is a priority bill and will likely be considered by the full legislature this month. Membership should keep an eye on their email for action alerts.
The Department of Correctional Services has indicated that even if LB867 does not pass, NDCS plans to move the youth population from NCYF to the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln. The timeline is not final, but NDCS plan to move the NCYF population after July 1. This move does not require a change in state law.
As a result, it is likely that all staff at NCYF will receive layoff notices. Before that can happen, our union must receive notice of the proposed layoff plan. That has not happened at this time, and we do not anticipate a layoff before July.
Union members have contractual protections in the event of a layoff. If you receive a layoff notice, it does not necessarily mean you will lose your job with the State of Nebraska. It is important to know your rights. If you missed our training on your rights in the event of a layoff, you can watch a recording here.