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Sedgwick County commissioner to testify in Topeka on bill to restore limited juvenile offender beds
Summary
Commissioner Howe said he will testify in Topeka in support of Senate Bill 367, which would restore a limited number of state-funded beds for criminogenic juvenile offenders and crisis stabilization services; he said the state — not the county — would fund operations and that there are currently no such beds in Kansas.
Commissioner Howe said he will testify in Topeka this week in support of Senate Bill 367, legislation that would restore a small number of state-funded beds and programming for criminogenic juvenile offenders.
The bill, Howe said at the Sedgwick County agenda review on Feb. 7, seeks to reverse a consequence of a 2016 law that removed some placement options for judges and corrections staff. He said the measure would provide a “limited number of beds” and that the Department of Corrections would determine where those beds are located.
Howe told fellow commissioners the state would fund the program if it moves forward and that the proposal is intended to complement community-based programs. He said local judges and corrections staff had been “hamstrung” by the earlier change and that the measure would not return the system to its previous scale or make the county responsible for operating costs.
The commissioner said the proposal has support from district attorneys, law enforcement and corrections officials. He also said an existing state fund that could be used for crisis stabilization has grown substantially and that lawmakers have sometimes considered sweeping such balances; he estimated that balance as “north of $50,000,000” and said legislators have discussed using those dollars for programming.
Howe asked whether the commission would formally support his testimony in Topeka. Chairman and other commissioners signaled support during the meeting; Howe said he would proceed whether or not the commission formally endorsed him.
The discussion did not include any formal county action or vote. Howe said locations and counts of beds would be determined by the Kansas Department of Corrections and stressed the county would not be asked to fund program operating costs under the version he described.
Looking ahead, Howe said his testimony in Topeka is scheduled for Thursday afternoon and invited commissioners to raise concerns or suggest edits to his submitted testimony.
Ending: County staff did not present any proposed county-level funding or operational plan for the beds at the agenda-review meeting. Commissioners who signaled support urged further updates after legislative hearings.
