Thayer County Board considers joining SE Nebraska Drug Court

During one of the many appointments at the Nov. 27 meeting, Thayer County commissioners spoke with Cristy Rivers from the Southeast Nebraska Drug Court.

After the county showed interest in joining the drug court, the state has approved the addition. The last step in becoming a part of the drug court would be approval by the commissioners.

The Southeast Nebraska Drug Court is a program that offers an  alternative for someone charged with a drug-related felony.

Since the program began in 2007, it has had an 86 percent success rate.

The charge doesn’t necessarily have to be a direct drug charge. It can be any non-violent felony charge that is related to an addiction to drugs.
In order for someone to enter the drug court, they must plead guilty to the felony charge. If the person successfully completes drug court, the charges will be dismissed and the felony charge will be removed from their record which is a big incentive, Rivers said.

Although that is a big incentive, the program is highly supervised and involves many different requirements.

“We really emphasize that it is not the easy way out of jail,” Rivers said.

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