Hall County judge receives statewide award

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - Hall County Judge Alfred Corey was honored with the 'Improvement of Community Relations' award by the Nebraska Supreme Court last month.

This following Judge Corey's work with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Nebraska's Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, and the Through The Eyes of the Child initiative within the ninth judicial district.

Judge Corey said these projects have taken teamwork, but so far they have been worth it.

"The JDAI team meets monthly and in effect working on alternatives to detention through Hall County, and I think it's actually been beneficial," Corey said. "Numbers have been down, intakes have been down, and there's some exciting things going on in the future."

The people behind the Hall County Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative were also honored in Lincoln for their work, According to Hall County JDAI Team coordinator, James Schulte, the program has reduced the average length of stay for youth in detention to a five-year low. It's also led to the county saving money, and getting youth the help they need.

Judge Corey said the JDAI team has a lot of different community partners.

"A lot of it's just sitting down, talking out issues and, uh, bringing together the parties, whether it's providers, the school system, whomever it may be, probation, and just say, what can we do to help these kids," Corey said. "That's been great a addition to us, just trying to figure out other ways to help these kids."

Judge Corey said the team's main motivation is helping out youth in the best way possible.

"It's ways to I guess think outside the box, try to learn what the issues are, whether it potentially could be substance abuse, mental health, and just then try to give parents the necessary tools to move forward," Corey said.

Other members of the team include District 9 Chief Probation Officer Marc Kohmetscher, Hall County Sheriff Rick Conrad, Hall County Attorney Martin Klein, and Judges Brian McQuay.