2025 Policy Priorities

Support youth’s access to equivalent due process by eliminating the use of compulsive courtroom shackling except in cases where restraints are deemed least restrictive due to flight risk or harm to themselves or others.

• The United States Supreme Court has established a clear presumption against adult shackling, but Kansas youth do not have the same protection.
• Shackling impedes the attorney-client relationship, runs counter to the presumption of innocence, restricts one’s ability to assist in their defense, and causes trauma to the youth being restrained.
• Kansas is one of 11 states that do not have laws, administrative rules, or court rulings establishing a presumption against youth shackling.
• The National Juvenile Defender Center observed numerous court hearings in Kansas in which youth appeared in person and arrived at court from a detention center or other secure facility. In each observed instance, the young person was shackled when brought into the courtroom and remained shackled throughout the hearing, regardless of the crime of which they were accused.

Eliminate the financial burden on youth and their families imposed by court fines and fees within the youth court system. Families in Kansas should not be facing a different justice system than their peers based solely on income or race.

• Our youth justice system should not impose consequences against its goals: rehabilitation, education, access to resources and supports, and restorative justice. Fines and fees have been shown to hurt outcomes, increase recidivism, and disproportionately impact our most vulnerable communities navigating poverty.
• The financial burden of these fines and fees can create costly and counterproductive consequences for families and communities facing stress under a pile of debt. The financial strain can also stay with youth for years, even into adulthood, significantly impacting their ability to access educational opportunities, employment, housing, etc.
• Collection costs often outweigh revenue from juvenile fees. Total court revenue from juvenile fees and fines in Kansas was under $540,000 in 2020 and has decreased steadily since 2016. Records also show that several Kansas counties have reported collections in the same category of fines and fees with no outstanding amounts due, suggesting that collection times are lengthy and inefficient.
• Fines and fees are imposed in a racially disparate manner. A stage analysis of the youth justice system using data from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) found that Black youth were 4.5 times more likely than White youth to be arrested and 20% more likely to be adjudicated delinquent in Kansas. As a result, any fines or fees imposed are going to impact Black youth disproportionately.

Expand opportunities for justice-impacted youth by creating and expanding job programs that provide targeted education in a specific field. Support youth through the provision of mental health supports, mentorship, life skills development, and other resources that can bolster success for youth transitioning into adulthood and the workforce.

• Those who are incarcerated or recently transitioned out of incarceration should have opportunities to build careers. Improving and encouraging this access in tandem with the provision of mental health supports, life skills education, mentorship, and other resources directly impact a person’s ability to have a smooth transition out of the system.
• Investing in building targeted job programs can support justice-impacted youth in finding meaningful employment in a field that may need a larger workforce such as EMS, mental health facility staff, etc.
• Addressing barriers to reentry into community such as unemployment, reduces risk for recidivism and future interactions with law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

Protecting youth justice reforms that reduce the use of incarceration and the dedicated funding for continued investment in youth support and programming are essential parts of moving Kansas’s youth justice work forward.

• Communities need funding for important mentorship programs that support young people as well as vital resources like mental health services, substance abuse treatment, and quality legal defense.
• No evidence exists that increasing detention lengths for children produces better outcomes. Detention and incarceration have been used to punish youth for decades, with detrimental results in terms of long-term success and outcomes. Positive behavior supports show the best success for changing young people’s behaviors.