Kansas pushes more jail time for problematic youth. Research says that will lead to more crime
Legislation sent to the governor allows more children to be locked up and for longer. It also requires new, previously unsuccessful treatment options to be funded.
A foster child at KVC Kansas’ residential program was trying to physically attack another child.
The 14-year-old attacker had two ankle monitors and was on probation for vehicle theft. One night while staying at the program, he ransacked the office and shut off all the lights. Foster children and agency staff barricaded themselves in a separate room and police were called — responding to the scene with guns drawn.
In another case, a child beat and hospitalized a security guard.
Both cases ended the same way. The children were arrested but couldn’t be detained because of state law. So both children were released back to the foster care agency.
Foster care agencies, judges and law enforcement are trying to close this gap in state law that sends high needs youth with criminal behaviors to foster care agencies instead of proper treatment programs.
“When folks talk about the decline of youth in incarceration, that is a positive thing,” Angela Hedrick, vice president of operations with KVC Kansas, told lawmakers in January. “But I also urge you to think about and understand where these youth are actually being served. They are coming to the foster care system.”
A bill recently passed in both houses of the Kansas Legislature:
- Increases detention limits for an entire case from 45 days to 90 days.
- Allows courts to put kids in juvenile detention if they had a gun when committing a felony, even if they didn’t use it. They could spend at least one year in jail and a maximum of two years.
- Reworks incarceration guidelines to allow moderate-risk kids to be imprisoned. Currently, only high-risk children can be incarcerated.
- Requires the state to get “non-foster home beds in youth residential facilities.” This would create group home placements for kids who need treatment.
- Transfer $10 million every year from a juvenile justice intervention fund to help create the group homes, though money to fund those homes would run out in a few years.
The bill passed with a veto-proof majority and now heads to the governor’s desk.
