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District Court outlines flat budget, opens self‑help center and a court‑reporter apprenticeship
Summary
Shawnee County District Court presented a flat 2026 budget, said a self‑help center will open July 14 staffed by Kansas Legal Services and volunteer attorneys, and described a new voice‑writing court‑reporter apprenticeship with Washburn Institute of Technology to address reporter shortages.
Lee Welch, court administrator for the Shawnee County District Court, presented a 2026 budget on July 3 that he described as essentially flat compared with 2025. Welch said the published number excludes the standard county personnel 3% adjustment, which will be applied separately.
Welch highlighted two operational projects. First, the court plans to open a self‑help center on July 14 in renovated space on the second floor (rooms 202/204), with Kansas Legal Services providing at least four hours per week of attorney staffing beginning August 1 and additional volunteer retired attorneys providing pro‑bono hours. The court said furnishings were funded by the judicial branch and grants, and the only county budget item for the center to date was carpet.
Second, the court described a local court‑reporter workforce development effort in partnership with Washburn Institute of Technology. Because the court has 18 divisions but only six court reporters, staff created a 12‑month apprenticeship “voice‑writing” program to grow local reporters; the first class of 4–5 students (most current court employees) begins July 14 and participants will commit to two years of work for Shawnee County after certification. The court has used digital recording rules where court reporters are not available.
Welch also gave an update on Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT). He said two residents have enrolled so far and the court is in a testing phase before a formal public announcement. The program intends to provide community‑based alternatives to repeated involuntary hospital commitments, with the goal of reducing hospital and jail use.
Judge Evertz told commissioners the court’s promise to present a flat budget was met and thanked the board for courthouse renovations. Commissioners asked about AOT implementation; Welch said early participation is modest, with the hope of growing enrollment and reducing inpatient/state‑hospital recidivism.
Provenance: Transcript blocks beginning at 4632.6147 (topicintro) through 5258.8047 (topicfinish).
