Douglas County’s safety-net program for low-income residents is under fire after a state audit found the county spent nearly $7 million on administrative costs while delivering $9.4 million in direct aid between 2023 and 2025 — and lost track of who received nearly 26,000 gift cards worth more than $759,000. The findings have triggered a criminal investigation by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and sparked a public standoff between state oversight officials and county leaders over how the program should be run going forward.
The audit, released in September, found that Douglas County’s Department of General Assistance spent roughly $74 in administrative costs for every $100 in direct assistance delivered to clients, according to the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts. Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley flagged the ratio as part of a broader review of a department that processed roughly 5,100 aid applications over the three-year span, as reported by the Omaha Daily Record.
As KMTV 3 News Now reported, the state auditor’s findings raised concerns about how taxpayer-funded assistance dollars were spent through the county’s general assistance program, prompting calls for reform alongside the sheriff’s investigation. The program is meant to help low-income Douglas County residents meet basic needs, including hygiene-related purchases funded through Dollar General gift cards.
Gift Cards Went Untracked for Years
Between 2023 and 2025, the county purchased nearly 26,000 Dollar General gift cards without maintaining the record-keeping logs needed to show which clients actually received them, the state auditor’s office found. Under the program’s own guidelines, eligible clients are limited to $25 per month in gift cards for hygiene and cleaning supplies, plus an $80 gift card every six months for clothing, per the same auditor’s report…