Kansas is a decentralized state, meaning that delinquency services are mostly organized at the local level, with the state providing support for a statewide network of community-based resources and graduated sanctions. Counties typically administer secure detention.

How is detention organized? 

Counties fund secure detention facilities and either administer them directly or contract with private providers. Currently, 14 facilities exist in the state, with several serving regions of the state.

Diversion is labeled "immediate intervention" in Kansas.

The Kansas Attorney General provides information to victims through its Crime Victims' Rights Office.

Court Services Officers (CSOs), working in Court Services Divisions of District Courts, provide probation supervision services for delinquents and may help monitor court-ordered services for adults in a range of case types, including adult probation, children in need of care (protection), and informal supervision of adult and juvenile offenders.

To qualify for employment, Court Services Officers must have graduated from an accredited four-year college or university and pursued major course work in corrections, counseling, criminology, psychology, social work, sociology, or closely related fields.

District Court judges commit youth to the custody of the Juvenile Justice Authority (JJA) Commissioner for a determinate period in a juvenile correctional facility as prescribed in the Kansas sentencing matrix, (K.S.A. 38-2369).

When the court recommends an out of home placement in the commitment order to the Juvenile Justice Authority (JJA), the youth may not be returned to the community without first notifying the court. Any modifications of a JJA commitment based upon program completion or positive behavior must be submitted to the court for approval.

Aftercare is called conditional release in Kansas. Conditional release is administered at the local level through the Juvenile Justice Authority's (JJA) Community Case Management network.

Kansas’ purpose clause is rooted in Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) philosophies.  The BARJ movement advocates that juvenile courts give balanced attention to three primary interests: public safety, individual accountability to the victims and community, and the development in offenders of those skills necessary to live law-abiding and productive lives.

Lower Age: 10

Upper Age: 17

Extended Age of Delinquency Jurisdiction: The maximum duration of institutional commitments (including conditional release periods) is until the youth reaches age 23 for certain sentencing matrix classifications.

Currently, no state mandate exists to guide detention decisions with a screening tool. Where structured decision-making exists for detention, it is developed and applied at the local level.