TOPEKA — A new law geared toward fixing the cracks in the state’s juvenile justice system may leave young offenders locked up for longer periods of time, advocates say, warning lawmakers that the legislation could damage landmark system reforms if not closely watched.
“The bill really effectively eliminates case length limits that were put into place with SB 367,” said Mike Fonkert, deputy director of advocacy group Kansas Appleseed, during a Oct. 2 legislative hearing on the juvenile justice system.
“The risk here without having guardrails, very intentional guardrails, is the risk of quasi-indefinite probation sentences,” Fonkert added. “We must also look to the data and research that shows us that time doesn’t always equal better outcomes.”
House Bill 2021, passed 22-16 in the Senate and 119-1 in the House during the last legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Laura Kelly, is meant to remedy strain on the system. The law, which took effect July 1, requires the creation of juvenile justice data networks, encourages increased spending on intervention programs, and mandates collaboration between state departments to provide services to youth in the child welfare system who show signs of behavior problems or criminal behaviors, among other lauded provisions.
In cases where the youth is incarcerated, the legislation requires that the defendant be given a risk and needs assessment within 72 hours and receive a case plan within 48 hours after the assessment’s completion. The law also specifies that the youth needs to be allowed access to behavioral health services, mental health services and substance use treatment disorder services while in detention.
But the legislation also increases the amount of time a juvenile can be detained per case and allows youth to be detained for probation violations, including for so-called technical offenses, such as missing a meeting. Young offenders who fall between low-level crimes and high-level offenses are typically placed on probation and sent to evidence-based programs. The bill amends the overall case length limits for these juvenile offenders, allowing courts to extend cases until the youth completes their required program if the youth in question makes an “repeated, intentional effort” to delay completion.
If a juvenile offender violates their probation agreement, a judge must be immediately notified.
In cases where the juvenile shows signs of violence, aggression or other concerning behavior, the judge can sentence the youth in escalating amounts for probation violation, with 24 hours of detention for a first violation, 48 hours for a second violation and up to 15 days for a third violation. The existing 45-day limit for detention remains in place.
The state implemented landmark reforms in 2016 with Senate Bill 367, which shifted practices away from detaining youths in group homes or state custody, and toward community-based programs and treatment. While youth incarceration rates have decreased since the bill’s implementation, the community treatment aspect has been slow to follow.
With few community resources available, foster care providers have shouldered the majority of juvenile delinquency cases, without proper resources to handle them, and advocates have warned that children are not receiving needed intervention and oversight.
The state has millions set aside for juvenile crisis center funding, which is thought to be a potential solution to the lack of resources for juvenile offenders, but it hasn’t used any of the funding.
“We absolutely need crisis intervention centers for kids,” Fonkert said. “We need to get those online like yesterday, so let’s get to work on those.”
In 2018, Johnson County applied to create a center, but the state government dropped the project.
Rep. Stephen Owens, R-Hesston, and chairman of the legislative juvenile justice oversight and corrections committee, said Johnson County was working on a plan for a center, and officials in Sedgwick County were also interested in creating one.
“Hopefully we’ll see some of those come to fruition,” Owens said.
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