(NE)
Flatwater Free Press [Omaha, NE]
July 16, 2026
By Sara Gentzler
The department announced the latest leadership shakeup and shared a list of reforms at its Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers.
The man overseeing Nebraska’s state-run youth facilities is out of a job as the ripples of a sex abuse scandal at its Kearney center reached the highest level yet.
Four former state employees have been arrested on allegations they sexually abused teens at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney. In at least two teens’ cases, staff knew about the allegations for months but didn’t tell key figures in their juvenile court cases.
The Department of Health and Human Services fired YRTC-Kearney’s top administrator in March. Now, DHHS has ousted her former boss.
The department announced on Wednesday that it had made “a leadership change,” installing a new senior administrator to oversee its Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers in Kearney, Hastings and Lincoln.
“As the department continues implementing significant operational improvements across its youth facilities, DHHS determined the new leadership is necessary to help advance these efforts and lead the next phase,” its press release reads.
The position previously belonged to Mark LaBouchardiere, who had already seen a job shift amid the mounting scandal.
Until earlier this year, LaBouchardiere served as director of facilities — overseeing the state’s three youth treatment centers, its two regional centers for adults, a psychiatric center for teen boys in Lincoln and a center for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Beatrice. But DHHS restructured its leadership in recent months so that LaBouchardiere oversaw solely the YRTCs.
Now, YRTC-Hastings administrator Camella Jacobe is serving as interim youth facilities administrator. The department will start a “nationwide search” for a permanent hire soon, according to DHHS.
A spokesperson on Thursday confirmed that LaBouchardiere no longer works for DHHS. LaBouchardiere could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday.
The department also pointed to a long list of “operational improvements” that DHHS said it made across its YRTCs. Changes include a standardized operating procedure for incident reporting that includes expanded monthly progress reports to the courts.
Among other changes: more unannounced inspections, a clear bag policy for staff, a new “probation line” for youth that’s free and not recorded and more staff training on professional boundaries.
“These changes reflect DHHS’s commitment to continuous improvement and its responsibility to provide safe and secure facilities for Nebraska youth,” DHHS CEO Steve Corsi said in a statement. “These actions represent a comprehensive effort to strengthen operational excellence and ensure the highest standards of care for youth entrusted to the state’s custody.”
The changes follow an internal report from last October that Flatwater obtained via public records request. In it, DHHS determined there was no systemic issue at YRTC-Kearney.
And it comes ahead of a completed independent investigation that could recommend systemic reform. The Inspector General for Child Welfare said in recent weeks that her office’s investigation is nearing its end.
Sara talks to people across the state to understand how government decisions affect them, grounding hot-button issues in real-life impact. She’s written about Nebraska’s prison, health care and juvenile justice systems, its child care crisis and the ripple effects of its abortion policy changes. Her project on the Ricketts family’s political giving won a state-level award for investigative journalism.