Kim Etherton

Background

About Kim Etherton

I am a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner and Certified Professional Counselor in the State of Nebraska. After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice I completed a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. In May of 1997, I was accepted as a member of the Counseling Academic and Professional Honor Society International. I worked as an inpatient therapist in Nebraska’s Sex Offender Treatment Program until 1998 when I accepted a position as an Outpatient Therapist at Lancaster County’s Community Mental Health Center. From I was the Program Manager of Lancaster County’s Mental Health Crisis Center while continuing to provide outpatient individual and group therapy counseling for that agency. Additionally, I worked part-time in private practice until November of 2015, specializing in treating complex trauma disorders, anxiety disorders and complex personality disorders. In February 2023 I retired from Lancaster County where I was the Director of the Department of Community Corrections, a department I founded in 2003 following the 2001 local criminal justice needs assessment. The department has a staff of 40 and administers 15+ programs across the criminal justice intercepts that provide diversion opportunities to residents of Lancaster County, Nebraska. These programs range from pretrial diversion to reentry services. Several of the programs developed and/or enhanced began as pilot projects using federal grant funding through either SAMHSA or the DOJ-Bureau of Justice Assistance. All programming was designed using risk and needs assessments, evidence based practices and best practice standards. During that time, I was a member of the Lancaster County Justice Council, the Nebraska Supreme Court Committee on Equity and Fairness, the Nebraska Coordinated Reentry Initiative and a past member of The National Research Institute Criminal Justice Advisory Council. In 2019, I received the Nebraska Association of County Officials President’s Award for Distinguished Leadership in County Government. In February 2023, I joined the National Center for State Courts as a Principal Court Management Consultant. My area of focus is behavioral health and the courts; working with courts and their stakeholders to better understand and respond to the behavioral health needs of individuals they encounter in their courts.