Kansas House passes juvenile justice reforms

Fewer juvenile offenders would face incarceration under legislation passed by an overwhelming majority in the Kansas House on Monday.

SB 367 enacts a series of changes in the state’s juvenile justice system, placing a greater emphasis on therapeutic options that allow non-violent juvenile offenders to remain at home than be incarcerated. The bill, which passed the House 117-6, is expected to save the state about $72 million over five years.

The bill shifts the state’s reliance from detention centers to community-based programs. Supporters say research has shown these programs are more effective at curbing recidivism and allow offenders to remain in school, increasing the likelihood that they’ll graduate from high school.

The Senate passed a version of the bill earlier in the session. Because the House made changes, negotiators from both chambers will have to reach a consensus before the bill heads to the governor’s desk, said Sen. Greg Smith, R-Overland Park, who chairs the Senate Corrections Committee.

The Senate bill would phase out the state’s use of youth residential facilities by 2018. The House version would keep 50 beds in youth residential facilities available for juvenile offenders.

Sedgwick County officials had previously expressed some concerns about the legislation, but Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said the House’s changes make it a better bill.

“It was more of a ceasefire than a final resolution,” Bennett said. “Frankly, we’ll all be here next year and probably try to fix a few more things.”

Bennett testified on the bill earlier this month and said House members assured him that savings from community-based alternatives would benefit the juvenile justice system and wouldn’t be “swept into some other general fund.”

“If we’re going to do all this, we wanted to make sure that there were many protections of any possible savings,” Bennett said.

Contributing: Daniel Salazar of The Eagle

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Kansas House passes juvenile justice reforms."