Shawnee County approves local competency restoration contract with Valeo Behavioral Healthcare

The Shawnee County Board of County Commissioners approved a contract with Valeo Behavioral Healthcare to provide on-site competency restoration services inside the county adult detention center, the board decided during its Feb. 6 meeting.

The contract (C45-2025) was approved 3-0. County officials said the service will be provided at no cost to the Department of Corrections because the state set up a fund to pay for the program.

Tim Phelps, Department of Corrections, described the item as “probably the final building block to be put into place for a multi year project that we've been working on.” He said the change is intended to ease delays created when defendants found incompetent to stand trial wait for placement at state facilities such as Larned, and that Shawnee County will be “the first county that kinda takes part of that over so that we can move our inmates through that process more efficiently.”

Phelps told commissioners the county has seen long waits for placement: “they've waited anywhere between 9 months to a year and a quarter, just to get there.” He said the program will combine county medical and mental-health staff with Valeo to provide restoration services locally and that the state established funding to cover the services so the county will incur no direct program cost.

Commissioners asked several operational and legal questions during the discussion. One commissioner asked whether the program was for “competency to stand trial,” and Phelps confirmed it was. Commissioners also asked whether the local program would include evaluations; Phelps explained there are two evaluations, and that the initial evaluation that places a person into the program “will be done outside of our operation. It's done by Valeo under contract with the court,” while a post-restoration evaluation will be provided back to the court.

The board discussed how medication-over-objection issues would be handled. Phelps said the county has worked with the district attorney's office, defense counsel and the courts to build the local legal structure needed to address medication-over-objection if it arises, and that the local program was designed to replicate Larner’s administrative approach where appropriate.

On funding responsibility, commissioners asked whether housing costs would shift to counties once a person is in a local competency program. Phelps said that, under current guidance from KDADS officials, costs are intended to remain the state's responsibility while a person is in a competency restoration program, but he warned the statute is not fully explicit and could change.

Phelps also said the county will remain the gatekeeper for admissions to its local program and that accepting referrals from other counties would not be automatic and would likely include negotiations over expenses.

The board approved the contract 3-0. Commissioners who voted in favor were Aaron Mays (chairman, District 3), Bill Rippon (District 1) and Kevin Cook (District 2).

The county presenter said parts of the new mental-health facility construction plan anticipate housing some beds for competency restoration as the jail expansion and associated services continue to be built out.