LINCOLN — Nebraska’s juvenile probation system has made progress on reducing the costs of services and increasing the use of home- and community-based services for juvenile offenders in the past few years, according to a new report.

The Legislature’s Performance Audit Committee released a report Wednesday that looked at the system over three years, from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2018.

The report found that juvenile probation spent $45 million on services for youths in fiscal year 2018, a drop of $9.4 million from the amount spent two years earlier.

According to the report, a reduction in spending on group homes and institutions for treating youths accounted for almost all of the difference. The number of youths sent for such treatment dropped to 231 in fiscal year 2018, down from 424 two years earlier. In addition, the average cost of that treatment declined to $26,459 per youth, down from $33,987.

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