LINC IT and Beyond: Building Developmentally Responsive Interventions for Emerging Adults

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Emily Melchers serves as the Reporting Center Coordinator for District 9 Probation in Grand Island, Nebraska, where she oversees evidence based clinical and non clinical programming, manages the drug testing program, and supervises specialized high risk probation officers. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Family Studies and a Master of Science in Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and is a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner as well as a National Certified Counselor. Emily’s clinical background is extensive, including providing therapy in an adolescent inpatient hospital, delivering drug and alcohol counseling at the Nebraska State Parole Office, and offering sexual offender treatment and mental health counseling at the Omaha Correctional Center. She also has experience in private practice as a service provider for probation. Emily began her career with Nebraska State Probation in 2019 as a Treatment Probation Officer and was promoted to Juvenile Justice Resource Supervisor in 2021. She has been in her current leadership role since 2023. Emily is passionate about applying evidence based strategies to enhance community supervision. She designed LINC IT, a cognitive program tailored to emerging adults, and in April 2025 received the Nebraska State Probation Implementation Science Award for her leadership in developing and sustaining the program. In her free time, she enjoys life with her husband, Jared, and their four boys.

Amber Pace is a Programs and Services Specialist with the Nebraska Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation, where she provides statewide leadership in service delivery, policy development, research, and system innovation. She oversees all adult assessment tools and their application, presentence investigations, and transitional living across the Nebraska Probation System. Amber contributes extensively to program design, data quality improvement, and cross system collaboration, ensuring alignment with evidence-based practices and emerging trends in community supervision. Amber plays a key role in advancing Nebraska’s Emerging Adult Pilot, helping to integrate developmentally responsive strategies into supervision practices for young adults. Her work reflects a strong grounding in implementation science, which she applies to guide system change, support fidelity, and strengthen long-term sustainability of innovative approaches. With professional experience spanning probation and behavior health, Amber has supervised justice-involved youth and adults, overseen Reporting Center services, and created re-entry plans for individual exiting incarceration. As a mental health therapist, she has provided outpatient services to teens and emerging adults using a range of therapeutic modalities. An Army National Guard veteran, Amber is recognized for her leadership, analytical strengths, and commitment to practices that enhance community safety and improve outcomes. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, sending time with friends and family, and supporting her son’s activities.