KDOC deputy secretary briefs committee on KJCC, juvenile intake and House Bill 2021 implementation

Megan Miller, deputy secretary of juvenile and adult community-based services at the Kansas Department of Corrections, briefed the Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice on differences between juvenile detention centers and the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex (KJCC) and provided updates tied to House Bill 2021 (2023 session).

Miller said Kansas has nine locally operated juvenile detention facilities that are licensed by the Department for Children and Families; KDOC does not operate or regularly fund those centers except by per-diem for KDOC custody youth. In contrast, KJCC is the single state juvenile correctional facility in Topeka; all residents there have been adjudicated and sentenced by the courts.

Miller said statute allows the Secretary of Corrections to retain custody of youth at KJCC up to age 22½. She told the committee that about half the current KJCC residents are older than 18 and roughly 90% are at least 16, describing an older adolescent and young-adult population at the facility.

On juvenile intake, Miller said each judicial district is required to operate a juvenile intake and assessment program; some rural districts operate mobile services rather than centralized centers. In fiscal year 2024 there were more than 11,000 intakes statewide; about 80% were for juvenile-offender reasons. Miller said intake programs provide 24/7 screening, assessment and referrals and are funded by KDOC via grants to judicial districts.

Describing House Bill 2021 implementation, Miller said DCF selected the CAFAS (Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale) as the risk-needs assessment for certain children in need of care, enabling referrals from child welfare to community-based juvenile-justice services. She provided preliminary data: about 50 referrals from child welfare to juvenile-justice programs since implementation began, with 35 accepted; Miller cautioned the data are incomplete as agencies refine reporting.

Miller said HB2021 authorized KDOC to require juvenile detention centers to provide access to behavioral-health screening and services. KDOC released grants and selected a screening tool to be administered at booking in juvenile detention centers. From October through December 2024, detention centers used the screening tool on 358 youth; 83% were recommended for a full mental-health evaluation and nearly 60% a full substance-abuse evaluation, Miller said.

House Bill 2021 also directed KDOC to create a rolling grant program for community providers; Miller said the agency has distributed just under $5 million through that process and continues to refine the grant schedule. Finally, she said KDOC, DCF and OJA have data-sharing memorandums of understanding and are exchanging information, though timing for more comprehensive vendor-based data systems remains affected by each agency’s broader IT schedules.

Miller told the committee KDOC has reviewed the Stepping Up for Youth recommendations and “is in support of the recommendations from the Council of State Governments.” She said agencies are working to refine referral and service processes developed under HB2021 and build policy for new KJCC work-release and educational-release programs authorized by Senate Bill 420 (2024 session).