Kansas kids should emerge from our justice system better than before, able to have lives free of crime and delinquency, and become successful, happy adults able to pursue their dreams. This means utilizing positive evidence-based interventions focused on helping youth with unmet needs and personal family struggles to achieve stability and find hope. Kansas’ investment in evidence-based programming reduces the use of incarceration, and leads to more positive outcomes for youth with about 77% of youth completing probation, and 93% completing Immediate Intervention Programs (IIP), which has significantly reduced the recidivism rate. Communities need this funding to support important mentorship programs that support young people, and to provide vital resources like mental and behavioral health services, substance abuse treatment, and quality legal defense.
2026 Policy Priorities
Youth & Adult Justice
2026 Policy Priorities: Youth & Adult Justice
All Kansans should benefit from a fair and effective system of justice. When our state invests in restoration, instead of incarceration, it invests in Kansans. The positive results are clear; the investments made into the youth justice system show evidence-based programs not only work more effectively, but saves Kansans money compared to detention. We need to keep moving forward in our efforts to expand programs, and establish policies to better support youths’ success. We must continue to build on this foundation of restoration and support for a justice system that is safer for all Kansans.
What We Are Working Towards:
Kansas must eliminate youth fines and fees, which have been shown to increase recidivism, push youth deeper into the juvenile justice system, undermine family wellbeing, and create barriers to educational and economic stability. Fines and fees are imposed on youth at every stage of their youth justice system involvement, including court access and defense counsel, docket fees, intervention program fees, law enforcement processing fees, testing fees, court-ordered custody and service fees, fines of up to $1,000 for each offense, and surcharges for collection agencies. The cost of collecting these fines and fees often outweigh revenue from juvenile fees.
Policies in the youth justice space must align with evidence-based best practice. Ending the indiscriminate use of courtroom restraints on kids, and implementing automatic expungements for youth who complete the terms of their sentence, are both significant steps forward in this effort. Youth who pose no threat to themselves or others should not be shackled in the courtroom, a clear deprivation of the presumption of innocence. After a youth has successfully completed the terms of their sentence, they should have their record expunged. This process better aligns with Kansas’ focus on rehabilitation and restoration within the youth justice system, allowing youth to move beyond their mistakes to lead productive lives. When our state invests in restoration, instead of incarceration, it invests in Kansans. Kansas Appleseed believes to confront deep-set flaws in our state’s adult and youth justice systems, we must work together and activate to advance effective policy solutions to build a more just Kansas.
The United States Supreme Court has established a clear presumption against adult shackling, but Kansas youth do not have the same protection. Kansas is one of only 11 states that does not have laws, administrative rules, or court rulings establishing a presumption against youth shackling. Similarly, Kansas’s youth expungement laws present more barriers than about 39 other U.S. jurisdictions, with 24 states having laws that automatically seal or expunge juvenile records in certain circumstances.
Our judicial system must be allowed and encouraged to consider someone’s role as a primary caregiver to a child when making sentencing considerations. Without alternative sentencing options, innocent children are needlessly ripped out of their homes and placed in the foster care system, because their primary caregiver is unnecessarily placed in detention. This can negatively impact children’s mental health, physical health, and their development of social and behavioral skills. Alternatives to detention are also more cost effective, and reduce the strain on our detention facilities and foster care system, but most importantly they keep Kansas families together.
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