20210728-60553-84

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 June, the Commission held its first meeting after the passage of HB 2077 reinstated the Commission through December 2021 and developed six subcommittees to move forward the selected scope of work. All prior members of the Commission were re-appointed with the exception of a judge who retired and a public defender who was newly added. Three subcommittees will intersect with crime trends, sentencing, and the prison population: “Sentencing Grid and Proportionality,” Diversion and Expungement,” and “Race and the Criminal Justice System.” Additionally, in June the Kansas Sentencing Commission (KSSC) met to discuss updated prison population projections and the upcoming release of the FY2020 KSSC Annual Report. As of May 31, 2021, the Kansas prison population was at 83 percent capacity.
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 June, CSG Justice Center staff met individually with each of the three supervision entities in Kansas to discuss the implementation of administrative recommendations as well as coordinated work with the Commission. The Commission created three subcommittees to focus on various community supervision related topics: “Research-Based Supervision Practices,” “Conditions of Supervision,” and “Consolidation of Concurrent Supervision Terms.”

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: The Commission will ensure that behavioral health needs of people in the criminal justice system are recognized during the intersecting subcommittee meetings. Additionally, the Commission would like to receive updates on the implementation of administrative policy recommendations from 2020.
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 June, the Commission met and determined that an area of focus will be criminal record expungement. Additionally, KDOC is working with the Community Corrections agency in Johnson County to develop a shared referral system for programming to increase access to programming for both KDOC and Community Corrections clients.

Other Updates:
• In June, CSG Justice Center staff met with leadership in all three branches of government to discuss the implementation of policy recommendations and the application process for reqesting Phase II technical assistance from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. All the branches of government expressed support for additional technical assistance and are working collaboratively on a letter of interest.
• HB 2026, which expanded drug treatment to people entering a prosecutorial diversion program, did not receive additional drug treatment funding for the expanded population by the legislature. As a result, the KSSC is working to reallocate funds to pay for the expanded program within existing budgets.
• KDOC is in the process of implementing a new data system (ATHENA), which is also required to be utilized by Community Corrections agencies. The implementation of ATHENA has not gone smoothly and is delaying the ability of KDOC to provide timely data reports to KSSC. KDOC is working on additional data system modifications to improve implementation challenges with ATHENA.
• In June, it was announced that the legislature provided raises for the judicial branch, which includes Court Services staff. Further, the legislature funded an additional 70 Court Services staff positions. The funding has caused tension between the supervision entities, as neither Community Corrections nor KDOC received funding increases.