Butler County officials say two long-term juvenile cases have driven detention costs into six figures

The county's Community Corrections director told commissioners July 8 that two long-term juvenile detention cases tied to an incident in Augusta have already cost Butler County more than $100,000 and remain an ongoing budgetary pressure.

The director said detention spending after collections for 2024 totaled $84,004.40. For 2025 the department reported payments totaling about $168,150 from January through June while collections have been only about $40,000, leaving an estimated net cost to the county of roughly $128,096 so far this year. For the two long-term juveniles tied to the Augusta incident, the county paid about $64,075 since January; overall payments in the specific case totaled about $104,000 and county collections on that case were roughly $4,000.

The director emphasized the county must absorb these detention costs from the general fund because grant funds used by Community Corrections cannot cover juvenile-detention expenses. He said the county will pursue collections from families where possible and may use the Kansas Setoff program to recover funds from tax refunds or lottery winnings if families do not pay.

Commissioners and staff discussed legal complexity: one case involves an appeal and a legal question about whether very young defendants could be tried as adults, with possible extra district-court costs if cases proceed to trial. The director said county exposure could increase substantially depending on the appeals schedule and court outcomes and that the county has been working with the county attorney and district court to manage costs and expedite proceedings where appropriate.

This was an informational budget discussion; no action or appropriation was made. Commissioners asked Community Corrections staff to continue providing monthly updates and to track expected additional costs related to appeals and long-term detention.