Sedgwick County presents adult, juvenile comprehensive corrections plans; officials cite training gains but say KDOC success metric remains unmet

Sedgwick County corrections officials presented their annual adult and juvenile comprehensive plan outcomes, telling the commission they have adopted new evidence‑based tools and internal coaching to improve supervision, but that the state’s 75 percent “successful completion” target has remained out of reach for adult community corrections.

Deputy director Laurie Gibbs summarized adult program work: staff developed a continuous quality improvement (CQI) team, improved interrater reliability on assessment tools, and replaced a longstanding curriculum with a new cognitive‑skills series called Courage for Change. Gibbs said the department also trained supervisors as adjunct coaches to shorten KDOC training timelines and has shifted performance goals to emphasize qualitative, behavior‑change work over box‑checking.

Gibbs said two primary adult goals are to target clients who score high on evidence‑based risk domains (for example, antisocial associates, antisocial attitudes, use of leisure time and antisocial personality patterns) and to place those clients into programs matched to those needs. She told the commission that state fiscal year results did not meet KDOC’s 75 percent successful‑completion mandate or the required 3 percent year‑over‑year improvement; the county’s early FY26 monthly rate was 66 percent overall, with August reported above 75 percent.

Mario Salinas, deputy director for juvenile programs, reviewed juvenile intake and treatment outcomes. He said the juvenile intake and assessment center averaged about 145 intakes per month in SFY25; roughly 75 percent of youth were released to the community and 25 percent detained. Of youth referred to community services, Salinas said 70 percent initiated services (exceeding the 67 percent target) and the Immediate Intervention Program (IIP), a 16‑week diversion program, had a 96 percent successful completion rate for participants.

Salinas also reported juvenile intensive supervision and community reentry outcomes: the juvenile ISP success rate averaged about 79 percent, and among youth who completed JISP, CR and JCF programs, roughly 90 percent did not commit a new offense during the measured follow‑up window. Salinas credited family engagement, transportation supports and partnerships with community providers for improved outcomes.

Commissioner questions and concerns: Commissioners asked for baseline counts and clarity on how out‑of‑county courtesy supervisions are counted toward KDOC metrics; staff said roughly 250–300 adult courtesy supervisions are managed at any given time and that jurisdictions that send clients receive official credit for successful closures even when Sedgwick County provided the supervision. Commissioners also pressed juvenile staff on intakes for weapons‑related cases and on whether diversion options were effective; Salinas said a prior weapons intervention program had zero engagement, and that many families choose not to participate when cases are not prosecuted.

Administrative step: County presenters said the comprehensive plan outcomes are presented annually and the chairman was asked to sign an acknowledgement that the commission had received the report; staff said that signed acknowledgement then is submitted to KDOC as part of the state reporting and grant process.

Ending: Officials said the juvenile results show gains in engagement and reduced reoffending for program completers, while the adult side continues to adapt supervision practice. Commissioners requested additional data on repeat intakes, weapons‑related juvenile intakes and the budgetary implications of program changes.