MEDIA RELEASE

January 29, 2018                                                              

Contact:
Samir Arif
KDOC Director of Public Affairs
785-368-8018
Samir.Arif@ks.gov

Juvenile Services Reinvestment Grants Announced

More than $3.5 million has been invested in programs for youth involved in the juvenile justice system, thanks to changes in Kansas’ approach to juvenile justice.

The Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC), Division of Juvenile Services, recently provided notifications to Boards of County Commissioners of approved grant requests. This new grant opportunity is available as a result of reforms enacted in 2016 with Senate Bill 367, which permit the department to reinvest in evidence-based programs in the community as an alternative to out of home placements or commitments to the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex (KJCC).

A group of grant reviewers with representatives from the Office of Judicial Administration, Kansas Appleseed, the Kansas Advisory Group, the Kansas Association of Counties, Kansas State University, and KEYS for Networking, assisted the KDOC’s Juvenile Services in the review process and made recommendations for approval to KDOC Secretary Joe Norwood.

Approval of these grants results in new community capacity to serve more than 2,200 juvenile offenders and their families annually. Services provided through the grants cover a broad range of needs based upon the priorities identified by local juvenile corrections advisory boards, including parenting classes, wraparound case management services for families, enhanced cognitive-behavioral programs for youth, partnerships with local school districts to strengthen engagement with youth, job readiness programs, and vocational scholarships. A total of twenty-nine grants were awarded to groups of collaborating counties, each led by an administrative county, totaling $3,556,661.

“These grants are one example that Kansas’ revised approach to juvenile justice, which places an emphasis on preventing deeper juvenile justice system involvement of lower-level youth through an early response with targeted services and swift and appropriate sanctions, is being realized,” said Randy Bowman, KDOC Deputy Secretary for Juvenile Services. “Effective leadership from across all three branches of government is providing this opportunity for Kansans to have their resources reinvested in a strong continuum of evidence-based services that will improve outcomes for youth and the public.”  

For specific information on the awarded grants, please go to: https://www.doc.ks.gov/juvenile-services/grants/FY18_Summary.

###

Click below to connect to the Kansas Department of Correction’s Social Networks: