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Panel backs expanding juvenile crisis intervention funding to more licensed facilities
Summary
Senate Judiciary heard Senate Bill 414, which would expand eligibility for Evidence Based Programs Account funding to include juvenile crisis intervention services in DCF- and KDADS-licensed residential facilities; agency and provider witnesses said it would increase capacity and align with statewide recommendations.
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 414, which would broaden which residential facilities can receive up to $2 million annually from the Evidence Based Programs Account to provide behavioral health crisis intervention services for juveniles.
Reviser Scott told the committee SB 414 amends KSA 65-5-36 (the juvenile crisis intervention centers statute) to allow the Secretary of Corrections to enter memoranda of understanding with other cabinet agencies and to provide funding to licensed juvenile crisis intervention centers or other residential facilities licensed by the Department for Children and Families (DCF) or the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) that have a program purpose of behavioral-health crisis intervention for juveniles.
Megan Milner, deputy secretary for the Kansas Department of Corrections, called the change a way to "expand access to crisis stabilization centers and services for youth and families in the state," tying the bill to ongoing House-level work on youth crisis services. Tanya Keyes, deputy secretary for programs and services at DCF, said the change increases capacity by making DCF-licensed facilities eligible and can "help prevent the need for further institutional care," strengthening the continuum of care.
Crystal Hedrick, CEO of the Children's Alliance of Kansas, said the bill addresses persistent gaps in crisis response, short-term stabilization and step-down services for juvenile offenders and crossover youth, and aligns with prior juvenile-justice reform goals to reduce unnecessary detention and reinvest in community-based services. Drew Adkins, commissioner for behavioral health at KDADS, also supported the expansion as a means to increase children’s access to stabilization and crisis models.
Stephanie Uberall of the Council of State Governments Justice Center testified remotely in neutral/support, noting the change aligns with the "stepping up for youth" initiative and a statewide task-force recommendation following an assessment; she said KDADS has supported crisis respite centers across the state, with five currently operating.
No opponents testified in person; the chair closed the hearing without a committee vote. Proponents and neutral witnesses emphasized that the proposal is meant to expand capacity and align state funding to evidence-based crisis-response models already under implementation in Kansas.
