Wyoming nonprofit to build Nebraska crisis stabilization center with $3.4M

Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services has selected the Central Wyoming Counseling Center for a $3.4 million opioid settlement infrastructure award intended to fund construction of a crisis stabilization center in Kimball County, state officials said.

The Central Wyoming Counseling Center, a nonprofit based in Wyoming, is set to use the funds to build the new facility near the Nebraska-Wyoming border, according to the proposal described by the Associated Press. DHHS said the project is intended to help individuals in crisis stabilize and then be routed to other community-based services in western Nebraska.

DHHS also said the organization’s selection followed review and scoring based on “objective criteria,” and that members reviewing the applications were not employed by, and did not have vested interest in, the agencies submitting proposals.

The selection drew attention because Steve Corsi, described in reporting as the Central Wyoming Counseling Center’s former acting CEO, later became the DHHS chief executive. In response, DHHS spokesperson Jeff Powell said Corsi had no involvement in the grant review or selection process and that he had no involvement with the counseling center after leaving the organization in 2023.

Powell said 23 organizations applied for the infrastructure funding round and that two applicants were from outside Nebraska. He said the Central Wyoming Counseling Center’s proposed project was the only such project slated for Nebraska’s Panhandle, where DHHS officials said they have identified a need for additional crisis stabilization and withdrawal services.

The infrastructure grant is part of a broader effort by states to distribute opioid litigation proceeds. The Associated Press reporting describes that more than $50 billion in funds for opioid remediation are being distributed across the country as the result of nationwide legal settlements reached in 2021 and 2022 between state attorneys general and opioid manufacturers and distributors, including Johnson & Johnson, Walmart and Walgreens.

Nebraska’s approach channels opioid settlement money into state accounts managed by DHHS, with the Opioid Recovery Fund administered through DHHS’s Division of Behavioral Health and a separate Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund created by the Nebraska Legislature in 2024. The reporting described that Nebraska’s first infrastructure-fund grants total about $10.5 million this year.

In addition to the Central Wyoming Counseling Center award, DHHS granted $4.4 million to Heartland Counseling Services for a crisis stabilization center near South Sioux City, $2 million to Centerpointe for an expansion of short-term residential treatment in Lincoln and Omaha, $350,000 to Bryan Medical Center in Lincoln, and $276,000 to ARCH in Omaha. At a December advisory committee meeting, DHHS’s Division of Behavioral Health director Thomas Janousek said officials have identified a need for crisis stabilization and withdrawal services in the western and northern parts of Nebraska, where the projects from the Central Wyoming Counseling Center and Heartland Counseling Services are planned.

Janousek said law enforcement and hospitals need places to redirect people during mental health and related crises, and he described the crisis stabilization centers as drop-off and referral points. Nebraska’s officials also framed the effort as a step toward longer-term treatment options, with University of Tennessee substance-use coordinator Jeremy Kourvelas saying that short-term stabilization is important but that integration with longer-term care is necessary for sustained reductions in overdose-related harm.

Reporting on the selection also highlighted questions about disclosure and public oversight. East Tennessee State University’s Addiction Science Center director Robert Pack said public disclosure of Corsi’s past role with the Central Wyoming Counseling Center should be made, adding that lack of disclosure could invite scrutiny. Powell said DHHS has complied with legal requirements and that Corsi has provided required accountability and disclosure statements. The reporting also described that during Corsi’s February 2024 confirmation hearing, lawmakers asked questions about another former employer, Utah-based consulting firm Epiphany Associates, which received a $10 million no-bid contract with Nebraska during the period when Corsi worked there.

According to the reporting, Nebraska’s opioid infrastructure grant for the Central Wyoming Counseling Center will be used for construction in Kimball County, and DHHS did not clarify whether Wyoming residents would have access to services at the new Nebraska facility. Reporting also said the counseling center’s 2024 Internal Revenue Service filings listed more than $18 million in assets and about $13.8 million in revenue, primarily through contracts with the Wyoming Department of Health’s Behavioral Health Division.