20210728-52050-77

Analysis Area 1: Analyze crime trends, including recent increases in of violent crime, to help the state understand the impacts of these trends on the criminal justice system, and maintain recent changes that make more effective use of corrections resources, including prison space.

Background: The June 2020 prison population report in Kansas shows the state prisons are operating at 91 percent of capacity. But this figure masks the reality that as recently as March 2020, the Kansas prisons were reported to be operating at 100 percent of capacity by the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC). And, prior to the dramatic population declines from 10,031 people in March 2020 to 9,189 in June 2020 , the prison population was projected to increase 14 percent by fiscal year (FY) 2029, costing the state an estimated additional $209 million. Kansas had the seventh-largest violent crime rate increase in the nation between 2010 and 2018, and people sentenced to prison for violent offenses made up more than half of the prison population in FY2019.

Update: In February, the legislature introduced House Bill (HB) 2350, which expands the number of presumptive probation border grid blocks in the sentencing grid for non-drug offenses.
Analysis Area 2: Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of community supervision to understand the causes of recidivism and technical violations that result in jail and prison admissions and strengthen community supervision by expanding resources to improve supervision success rates.

Background: Sending people to prison for community supervision sanctions, violations, and revocations has historically contributed substantially to prison population pressures in Kansas. In FY2019, two-thirds of all prison admissions were due to probation sanctions and violations (46 percent) or violations of parole (20 percent). The majority of these admissions were for violations of supervision conditions or supervision sanctions, rather than for new offenses. Breaking these numbers down by sex reveals that nearly two-thirds of women admitted to prison in FY2019 were admitted for probation sanctions or violations, compared to fewer than half of men. Ultimately, people returning to prison due to supervision violations is expensive and consumes state dollars and resources that could be allocated for more effective public safety responses to supervision violations.

Update: In February 2021, the legislature introduced HB 2275 to require KDOC to formalize an incentive and sanction system.
Analysis Area 3: Assess the state’s response to people in the criminal justice system with behavioral health needs and identify opportunities for decreasing recidivism by helping people succeed upon release to the community.

Background: Gaps in Kansas’s behavioral health infrastructure, including a lack of hospital beds statewide and limited community mental health center access in rural areas, place pressure on Kansas’s prisons. When people are unable to access mental health resources, law enforcement and the courts often rely on incarceration to remove them from the community to ensure both individual and community safety, often with the unfulfilled hope that these people will receive needed treatment while incarcerated. Between FY2016 and FY2019, the number of people in prison with a serious mental health need increased nearly three times faster than the total prison population in Kansas. One-third (33 percent) of the people in prison in FY2019 had an identified mental health need, including 10 percent who were identified as having a severe and persistent mental illness.

Update: In February, the legislature introduced HB 2361 to create statewide guidelines for specialty courts, develop a committee to oversee the process, and identify funding needs for specialty courts across the state.
Analysis Area 4: Assess the state’s current reentry efforts for expanding paths to successful employment, in part by increasing post-secondary education opportunities for incarcerated people and ensuring housing support after release, including for those who have mental illnesses, developmental disabilities, and other special needs.

Background: The majority of people released from prison each year need some type of programming or services: 75 percent need programming to address criminal thinking and social skills, 75 percent need substance use and recovery programming, 75 percent need education or employment services, and 20 percent need housing support. Due to limited KDOC capacity, however, access to these services varies widely and many people return to the community without receiving the assistance they need.

Update: In February, the legislature introduced two bills to improve reentry success. HB 2215 expands eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), so a felony drug offense is not a sole disqualifying factor, and removes a lifetime ban on SNAP eligibility for certain people convicted of a felony drug offense. HB 2370 seeks to reduce occupational licensure barriers for people convicted of felony offenses.

Other Updates:
In total, 10 bills have been introduced in the Kansas legislature related to recommendations of the KCJRC. CSG Justice Center staff have been working with key stakeholders to answer any questions about these bills.