Two of Nebraska’s Problem-Solving Courts, both in Lancaster County, accepted awards as national mentor courts by the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) in early April. 

As part of NADCP’s mentor court network for 2022-2024, the Lancaster County Adult Drug Court and Lancaster County Veterans Treatment Court will help develop, identify, and test national best practices and provide technical assistance to jurisdictions interested in implementing an adult drug treatment court. The two Problem-Solving Courts will be hosting site visits by team members from other jurisdictions around the country. 

National mentor courts are deemed exemplary treatment courts selected to serve a 3-year term as model programs to assist new or growing courts. Mentor courts follow evidence-based best practices and play a significant role in national training, technical assistance, and research efforts for the nearly 4,000 treatment courts that currently are operating nationwide.

NADCP Chief of Training and Research, Carolyn Hardin, noted that both programs are “shining examples” of how a combination of accountability and treatment can save lives, reunite families, and make the community safer. She noted, “As a mentor court, this program is helping to transform our justice system and leading countless people who might otherwise be incarcerated into lives of long-term recovery.”

 The Lancaster County Adult Drug Court targets high-risk/high-need individuals charged with nonviolent felony offenses whose substance use has led them into the criminal justice system. Program participants receive a highly structured, intensively supervised program individualized to address their specific behavioral health needs. The presiding judges for the Court are Judge Andrew Jacobsen and Judge John Colborn (retired). For more information regarding the Adult Drug Court, please contact Coordinator Dean Rohwer at 402-441-1658 or drohwer@lancaster.ne.gov

The Lancaster County Veterans Treatment Court has been fully operational since the Court’s inaugural ceremony held in April 2017. The Court is staffed with a multidisciplinary team of criminal justice professionals, who ensure the issues of veterans’ treatment needs are of primary goals. They are familiar with veterans’ issues and the culture of veterans. The presiding judges for the Court are Judge Robert Otte and Judge John Colborn, Retired. For more information regarding the Veterans Treatment Court, please contact Coordinator Mindy Millan-Groves at 402-580-7487 or erminda.millan-groves@nebraska.gov.

Read: The Nebraska Legislature introduced LR 432 (Lancaster County Adult Drug Court) and LR 433 (Lancaster County Veterans Treatment Court) in honor of the occasion.

Watch: Channel 1011: Two Lancaster County courts designated as national mentor courts

Photos:

(Top) Judge John Colborn, ret., and Judge Robert Otte accept the award for Veteran’s Treatment Court from Dr. Marla Newby, National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

(Bottom) Judge Andrew Jacobsen speaks to supporters of problem-solving courts before the Lancaster County Board during awards ceremony.