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| Proposed juvenile justice changes would incarcerate fewer youths; some counties express concern |
| By ljworld.com- Peter Hancock |
| Published: 02/02/2016 |
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Topeka — Kansas lawmakers are considering a bill that would dramatically overhaul the way juvenile offenders are handled, steering lower-level offenders away from juvenile detention centers and putting more emphasis on community-based intervention programs. But it is already causing worry among some local officials who fear that, among other things, it will end up shifting the cost of juvenile corrections onto local taxpayers. "This bill has divided folks locally in my district almost like none other that I have seen in my 10 years in office," said Sen. Jeff King, R-Independence. The 110-page bill is the product of a six-month study by the Kansas Juvenile Justice Workgroup, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, judges, corrections officials and others who conducted what they called a top-to-bottom review of the state's current juvenile justice system. Among other things, the group noted in its final report that Kansas incarcerates a high number of young offenders. And over a 10-year period from 2004 to 2013, juvenile arrest rates dropped more than 50 percent in Kansas, but the incarceration rate fell by only half that much. Read More. |
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