What the law and rules say: county oversight, comprehensive plans and secretary audit authority
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Summary
The Reviser of Statutes and Legislative Research staff summarized statutory requirements for counties to receive community corrections grants: a secretary-approved comprehensive plan, a locally approved corrections advisory board, and compliance with KDOC operating standards subject to audit.
Legislative staff and the Reviser of Statutes presented statutory and regulatory requirements that govern the community corrections grant program, outlining local responsibilities and KDOC oversight powers.
Jill Walters, Reviser of Statutes, told the committee the Community Corrections Act authorizes the secretary of corrections to make grants to counties for development and operation of community corrections services and that counties must submit a comprehensive plan to qualify. The plan must be approved by the secretary; counties or groups of counties may cooperate under agreements. "Pursuant to KSA 75-52-96, a county is not qualified to receive grants under the act until they have the comprehensive plan for the county, and it has been approved by the secretary of corrections," Walters said.
Walters walked members through audit and suspension authority: the secretary may review books and records, determine whether counties substantially comply with operating standards, and suspend all or part of a grant until corrections are made. Rules and regulations govern use of funds, allowable capital expenditures (with KDOC approval above certain thresholds), and reporting requirements for county advisory boards.
Jillian Kinkade clarified statutory terms and definitions used in the program and answered procedural questions. When asked by the chair to define "revocation," Kinkade said, "Revocation, in this case, does explicitly mean, individuals that are sent back to prison." The committee asked KDOC to make clear reporting and audit expectations and to provide historical compliance and spending data to the committee as part of the follow-up report.
The committee asked the Reviser and KDOC to clarify whether "expenditures" in statute should be interpreted to include in-kind contributions, and requested that KDOC present standardized reporting templates for local match calculations if in-kind is accepted.
