The proposed legislation also targets chronic offenders and cases involving firearms

TOPEKA — Proposed legislation in Kansas cracks open state guidelines to allow courts to sentence any kid deemed an offender to juvenile prison, reversing a decade-old effort to treat youth incarceration as a last resort.

Ten years ago, Kansas judges were allowed to sentence kids to juvenile prison regardless of their level of offense. That could include kids adjudicated of a misdemeanor, a low-level or first-time offender, or a low-risk youth. House Bill 2329 is stocked with modifications to the juvenile justice system, and one seeks a return to looser sentencing rules.

Changes to state law in 2016 moved the system toward a rehabilitative model, saving incarceration for high-risk cases and prioritizing prevention and intervention. Megan Milner, deputy secretary for the Kansas Department of Corrections, said Monday she remembers the formerly broad approach to incarcerating children.

“At one point, prior to the reforms in Kansas, we were still sentencing youth who were misdemeanors to the custody of the secretary and the juvenile correctional facility,” Milner said. “Eventually, kids who were adjudicated of things like disorderly conduct were pushed deeper into the system because of some of the statutes that we had.”

Senate lawmakers considered the changes at hearings Thursday and Monday. In addition to broadening sentencing guidelines, the bill would double the limit on detention time for youths, increasing the maximum from 45 days to 90 days. That limit does not apply to kids adjudicated of more serious crimes.

The bill also requires kids who are found to be in possession of a firearm, regardless of whether or not they use it, to serve time in juvenile prison. It mandates courts send to juvenile prison kids deemed high-risk or moderate-risk if they are chronic offenders. And it requires the corrections department to contract with secure youth residential facilities to add between 35-45 beds to avoid placing kids who are in corrections department custody in a foster home.

While foster care providers and law enforcement lined up Thursday to support the bill, the corrections department, advocacy groups and the state’s Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee expressed opposition at a Monday hearing.

Most were interested in addressing a specific population of kids 10 years and older who cross over between the juvenile justice and foster care systems. Those kids have some of the highest risks and needs in each system, but groups differed on which solutions can mitigate the risks and meet kids’ needs.

HB 2329 was put forth as one of the solutions.

The bill was framed as a way to give judges more discretion, but that may not actually be the case. Judges are already able to override rules attached to certain eligibility assessments, such as high, moderate or low risk, to allow for flexibility in deciding where to place kids.

Khavayi Tsimonjela, a youth intern for the Wichita juvenile justice advocacy organization Progeny, said judges are uniquely equipped to gauge a child’s needs, and the state should avoid investing in systems known to be ineffective.

“Accountability does matter,” Tsimonjela said, “but science shows that accountability does not have to be punitive to be effective.”

The bill treats firearm possession and use the same, she said, but there are levels of offenses for a reason.

Uncertain progress

Rep. Bob Lewis, a Garden City Republican, introduced the bill last February. The House approved it a month later in a 106-16 vote. It was left behind by the end of the 2025 legislative session, but the Senate Judiciary Committee revived it and plans to work the bill Tuesday to prepare it for a potential Senate vote.

Those who testified Monday against the bill feared it would undo a decade of progress. But those who supported the bill said Thursday that the bill could fill in major gaps that strain service providers

The set of 2016 reforms came up repeatedly in the hearing. Senate Bill 367 expanded community-based programs for justice-involved youths, placed limits on which kids are detained and reduced probation times for misdemeanor and low-level felony crimes. Since its passage, one of the state’s two youth prisons closed and youth prison populations have fallen from 347 kids in detention in 2010 to 110 kids as of July 2025, according to corrections department data.

Milner, deputy secretary of the corrections department, said Monday that components of the bill were counterproductive and “may have a negative impact on youth, families and communities.”

One piece of the bill, expanding reliance on out-of-home placements, which can include secure residential facilities such as group homes or detention centers, is associated with bad outcomes, Milner said.

Incarceration is often treated as a last resort, and Milner said placements should be reserved for youths posing an immediate threat to public safety and at the greatest risk of reoffending. The bill’s changes risk pushing low-risk youths and those who commit low-level crimes deeper into the juvenile justice system, Milner said.

The bill’s proponents focused on the crossover population of juvenile offenders.

Foster care providers EmberHope Connections in Sedgwick County, Saint Francis Ministries in much of central and western Kansas and KVC in northeastern Kansas testified in support of the bill.

They said the foster care system is being treated as a default.

Matt Stephens, vice president of advocacy for Saint Francis, said children entering the system for reasons other than abuse and neglect is evidence of an overwhelmed system.

Of the 2,708 juvenile justice system intakes so far in fiscal year 2026, which began July 1, 1,353 kids, or 50%, were returned to a parent or guardian. Around 580 kids, or 22%, were sent to juvenile prison, and nearly 230 kids, or 8%, entered into the foster care system.

Jim Howell, a Sedgwick County commissioner, said he is asking for a “rebalancing.” The bill addresses the unintended consequences of 2016 reforms and creates a place for kids to go, he said.

“One of those unintended consequences is that we are comingling juvenile offenders with foster kids, children in need of care, kids that are abused and neglected that are basically needing some parents,” Howell said.

He claimed the state is not funding an alternative.

The bill proposes carving into an existing pot that funds prevention and intervention programs, including ones that focus on mentoring, substance use deterrence, behavioral health support, family therapy, coaching workshops, workforce development, future planning, anger management and conflict resolution.

The evidence-based program fund would be gutted to fund the required new beds in secure facilities.

Mike Fonkert, deputy director of Kansas Appleseed, said evidence-based investments exist that can address the concerns of lawmakers, foster care providers, law enforcement, advocates and government agencies alike. Therapeutic foster homes, which are trained to house kids with behavioral needs, are one of those investments.

Several opponents of the bill, along with some proponents, mentioned youth crisis response centers as an alternative solution to increasing reliance on detention. Those centers provide emergency respite for kids with nowhere else to go.

At the core, Fonkert said, are missed decision points in the progression of a kid’s entry into the juvenile justice and foster care systems.

“There’s a hundred ways to attack this,” he said, “but what we’re saying is the nine ways that are in this bill are all pretty bad.”

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.

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