A nearly unanimous vote in February by the Kansas Senate passed legislation shifting the focus of the state’s juvenile justice system to reduce incarceration of low-risk offenders. The bill shifts millions of dollars into community-based programs to counter recidivism by funding education and treatment.
The bill was advanced by Senator Greg Smith (R-Kansas). It was praised by Democrats and Republicans alike.
Senate Bill 367 was passed to the House by a 38 to 2 margin.
Under the bill, the level of out-of-home placement of juveniles is expected to drop 60 percent by 2020. It is estimated $75 million could be reallocated to juvenile programs. “It truly reflects the charge … to promote public safety, hold juvenile offenders accountable, control taxpayer cost, and improve outcomes for youth, families and communities,” Smith said, reported the Topeka Capital-Journal.
According to the Kansas Department of Corrections, drug charges are a common theme for juveniles serving time in the local detention centers. Currently, juveniles could be returned to the Juvenile Department of Corrections for any violation of the terms of probation. These violations could include drug use, not attending school, hanging out with drug users, and getting fast food at a restaurant when ordered to go straight home. In addition, Kansas incarcerates youth at the sixth highest rate of any state in the U.S.
In response, a bipartisan group of legislators hopes to shift resources away from incarceration and into programs that help young people.
For example, the bill would also limit a court’s jurisdiction over a juvenile’s case to 12 months for a misdemeanor, 15 months for a low-risk felony, and 18 months for some high-risk felonies.Probation would reflect the outcome of risk and needs assessments. Terms of probation would be graduated from six to 12 months depending on the offense.
The Kansas Department of Corrections would be required to adopt regulations by January 2017 for a series of graduated responses to technical violations of probation. A system of multidisciplinary teams would also be created to review cases of a juvenile’s failure to substantially comply with intervention efforts.
Katrina Pollet, Southwest Regional Juvenile Detention Director said, “We need (the) type of program to meet the needs (of our kids),” she added.She also believes education and training inside the juveniles homes are better methods than incarceration. “We need to get them to services at home that are known to help.” The legislation would shift control over policies and programs to the local level. Smith, chairman of the Senate’s corrections committee, said criticism of the bill as soft on crime is mistaken. Smith himself has been affected by crime. His daughter, Kelsey, was abducted and murdered in 2007.
He urged colleagues to review the research for answers to why the state can’t simply warehouse troubled children.
“Rarely does the Legislature address the needs of the people. It seems we always address the needs of the institutions,” said the senator. “We’re putting kids first, families first, and promoting public safety.”
