Nebraska has the second-most overcrowded prison system in the country. It's a hotly debated issue among lawmakers. One state senator has proposed a solution - address the reoccurring issues within communities - to keep young people from ending up there in the first place.

State senator Tony Vargas says, “ I saw the number of students being exposed and getting into the juvenile justice system and eventually in the many instances of the correction system”.

According to the official, the legislature's appropriations committee is focused on funding state agencies to provide incarceration and outreach programs that help inmates work toward rehabilitation.

“We have been working on legislation that’s been trying to reduce the incarceration and confinement numbers, and the number of youth entering the juvenile system, but we need to do more”.

But, Vargas says that there are factors that have driven jail growth, especially for minority communities.

“We see that African Americans and Latinos are overrepresented in their encounters with law enforcement and the criminal justice system and starts really early in schools”.

Statistics show that unemployment, lack of healthcare accessibility, and affordable housing make it difficult for minority families to improve their situation. Vargas says they end up in the cycle of the system.

“In our prison system, we have to continue to look at reducing and reforming our structure, rehabilitation”

On the other hand, the Nebraska state corrections director has proposed a plan to construct a new multimillion-dollar state prison between Omaha and Lincoln. the proposal first has to get it through the appropriations committee and the legislature.

Senator Vargas says that the answer to overcrowding is not to build more prisons, but is to figure out the reason of why we have overcrowding. He also says that the money could go to other important programs that address gaps in employment, housing, and affordable education

“I think we need to focus on education. I overwhelmingly heard from constituents across the state including my own that they don’t want these new funds to go to building a new prison”.

According to a poll by ACLU of Nebraska, the majority of Nebraskans agree too much taxpayer money is proposed to be spent on the prison. Vargas is hopeful the appropriations committee will focus on reform instead of more places to put prisoners.

“We are going to do what we can to ensure that they have the support in the system because its not only important for you and your families its also important for all of Nebraska”.