That total is from a Nebraska Legislative Fiscal Office memo, sent in response to a request for information on the costs to maintain the civil commitment programs at the Lincoln Regional Center and Norfolk Regional Center. The total costs amount to nearly $37 million at the LRC and more than $13.6 million in Norfolk, and breaks down to a cost $464 per patient patient per day in Lincoln and $463 in Norfolk.More than 80 percent of the cost goes to salaries and benefits, with another 10 percent for operating expenses, including facility and medical costs. The rest of the expenses goes for drugs and food, with only approximately $8 per patient per day spent on food.
The memo is dated August 30, 2017 and was sent to Nebraskans Unafraid by a resident at the Lincoln Regional Center. The memo does not say how many people are civilly committed in Nebraska, or how many of those who are actually need to be.