SESSION OF 2023
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2021
As Amended by House Committee on
Corrections and Juvenile Justice
Brief*
HB 2021, as amended, would create and amend law
regarding the assessment of and provision of services to
children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems;
cumulative detention and overall case length limits and
probation violation sanctions under the Revised Kansas
Juvenile Justice Code (Juvenile Code); exchange of
confidential data within the juvenile justice system; and use of
funds from the Evidence-based Programs Account of the
State General Fund.
Memorandum of Understanding (New Section 1)
The bill would require a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) to be entered into by the Secretary of Corrections and
the Secretary for Children and Families by October 1, 2023,
to coordinate administering a risk and needs assessment to
children identified as exhibiting behavior that could lead to
offending behaviors during the course of a child in need of
care (CINC) proceeding. The MOU would include procedures
for allowing identified children to participate in programs
funded by the Evidence-based Programs Account. A copy of
the MOU would be provided to the Joint Committee on
Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight (JCCJJO), House
Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice, and Senate
Committee on Judiciary.
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org Collaboration Between Agencies (Sections 2-3)
The bill would amend the Revised Code for Care of
Children (CINC Code) and the Juvenile Code to require, if a
child, juvenile, or juvenile offender is eligible to receive
services from the Department for Children and Families
(DCF), the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC), or the
Judicial Branch, that these agencies collaborate to provide
such services. The bill would state that nothing in the CINC
Code provision or in the Juvenile Code would preclude the
eligible child from accessing services by the listed agencies
or any other state agency if the child is otherwise eligible for
services.
In the Juvenile Code, this provision would replace an
existing provision requiring collaboration between KDOC and
the Secretary for Children and Families to furnish services.
Juvenile Code Case Length and Detention Limits
(Sections 4-5)
The bill would amend the overall case length and
probation length limits for juvenile offenders. The court would
be able to extend the overall case length limit to allow for
completion of an evidence-based program if the juvenile’s
delay is the reason for failure to complete the evidence-based
program. Such extensions could only be granted
incrementally.
The bill would also amend the maximum cumulative
detention limit to 90 days from 45 days. [Note: Under
continuing law, there is no limit on cumulative detention for
juvenile offenders adjudicated for a felony which, if committed
by an adult, would constitute an off-grid felony or a nondrug
severity level 1 through 4 person felony.]
2- 2021 Graduated Sanctions for Juvenile Probation Violations
(Section 6)
The bill would amend the Juvenile Code to allow a judge
to commit a juvenile, who is on probation, to detention for a
probation violation and for contempt of court. The detention
period could not exceed 24 hours for the first violation, 48
hours for the second violation, and 15 days for the third or
subsequent violation.
Confidential Data Exchange System (Section 7)
The bill would require KDOC to develop a system or
contract with an entity by July 1, 2025, to facilitate the
exchange of confidential information between all parts of the
juvenile justice system. KDOC would be required to report to
the JCCJJO, House Committee on Appropriations, Senate
Committee on Judiciary, Senate Committee on Ways and
Means, and House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile
Justice on the progress of the development by the first day of
the 2024 Legislative Session.
Amendments to Evidence-Based Programs Account
(Section 8)
The bill would amend the Evidence-based Programs
Account to expand allowable expenditures to include
evidence-based community programs and practices for:
●Juvenile offenders and their families;
●Children who have been administered the risk and
needs assessment and have been identified as
needing services pursuant to Section 1 of the bill;
and
●Grants under provisions described below.
3- 2021 The bill would expand those eligible to administer such
programs and practices to include community mental health
centers and any other community-based service provider
offering evidence-based community programs.
The bill would require the Secretary of Corrections to
develop and implement a grant program with the goal of
implementing evidence-based community programs
throughout the state. The Secretary would be required to
adopt grant requirements and to evaluate grant-funded
programs to ensure the program is being delivered as
intended. Any provider of evidence-based community
programs for juveniles could apply for a grant, and priority
would be given to any county that demonstrates low
availability of evidence-based community programs for
juveniles.
The bill would require expenditures made from the
Evidence-based Programs Account to be made promptly and
on a rolling basis to develop and implement evidence-based
community programs as services are needed throughout the
state.
Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Corrections and Juvenile Justice at the request of
Representative Owens.
House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice
In the House Committee hearing on January 30, 2023,
representatives of the Children’s Alliance of Kansas, Kansas
Association of Court Services Officers, Kansas Community
Corrections Association, KVC Kansas, Saint Francis
Ministries, a Sedgwick County commissioner, and a private
citizen testified as proponents of the bill. The proponents
stated the bill would foster greater communication between
4- 2021 agencies and maximize resources for juveniles and their
families.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by
representatives of the Association of Community Mental
Health Centers of Kansas; Kansas Association of Chiefs of
Police, Kansas Peace Officers Association, and Kansas
Sheriffs Association; TFI Family Services, Inc.; and a private
citizen.
A representative of KDOC and DCF provided written-
only neutral testimony.
Opponent testimony was provided by a representative
of Kansas Appleseed and four private citizens. The
opponents generally stated that studies have proven more
detention for juveniles is detrimental to their future, and many
juveniles get held in contempt of court for angering the adults
involved in the court system.
Written-only opponent testimony was provided by
representatives of ACLU–Kansas, Destination Innovation,
Inc., Justice Action Network, Juvenile Law Center, Kansas
Advisory Group Executive Committee, and The Gault Center.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill to remove
technical violations from when a judge could commit a
juvenile to detention for a probation violation. Additionally, the
Committee amended the bill to allow KDOC to contract with
an entity for the electronic record system, and the system
would include a verification system operated by KDOC to
verify authenticity and validity of electronic records.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
Budget on the bill, as introduced, KDOC indicates enactment
5- 2021 of the bill would require additional costs that the agency is
unable to estimate. Additional expenditures would come from
training DCF staff to administer risk and needs assessments,
additional children served by funded grant programs,
increased sentence lengths resulting in increased community
corrections caseloads, design and development of new
information technology systems or additional functionality to
current systems, and increased administrative costs for
staffing to manage more grants and grantees. The additional
expenditures would be paid from the current balance of the
Evidence-based Programs Fund or a new S tate General
Fund appropriation if the Evidence-based Programs Fund
balance is unavailable.
The DCF indicates enactment of the bill would not
increase agency expenditures for the risk and needs
assessment tool since it is available from KDOC. If the use or
licensing of the risk and needs assessment tool is required,
then the agency indicates that approximately 600 youth would
be affected, and the associated costs would be added to the
foster care program budget as part of the consensus
caseload budget process. It is estimated that those increases
could range between $6,000 to $15,000 per family from all
funding sources, including $3,000 to $7,500 from the State
General Fund.
The Office of Judicial Administration (OJA) indicates
enactment of the bill could potentially increase expenditures
due to the increase in workload for court services officers to
perform risk and needs assessments and any associated
costs for providing the assessments. The OJA could not
estimate a fiscal effect.
Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected
in The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.
Children in need of care; juvenile offenders; risk and needs assessment; case length;
detention; evidence-based programs; evidence-based programs account;
Department of Children and Families; Department of Corrections; Judicial Branch
6- 2021