Kansas Gov. Kelly wants to open new juvenile correctional facility in Wichita area
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly wants to open a new juvenile correctional facility in the Wichita area.
The Democratic governor, who is up for reelection in November, revealed the plan for a facility in Sedgwick County during a Thursday interview with The Kansas City Star’s editorial board. She said she would propose the project in her next budget if she is reelected.
“I think we need a new juvenile correctional and I think we ought to consider putting it in Sedgwick County where the vast majority of the kids who need or have to be incarcerated come from,” Kelly said. “I would rather have a facility closer to their home and their families so there will be interaction and hopefully a more successful return to society.”
If a new facility is built, Kelly said, the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex in Topeka could be closed.
As of February, 149 youth were incarcerated at the Topeka facility. The offenders, on average, were 17 years old and stayed for about 12 months, according to the Department of Corrections.
Kelly, who is locked in a tight reelection campaign, pointed to the plan as a continuation of corrections work from her administration that has included efforts to build a new mental health hospital in Sedgwick County and the creation of specified units in Kansas prisons for aging inmates and substance abuse treatment.
Kelly’s challenger, Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, has included supporting a new mental health hospital in Sedgwick County in his “first 100 days” policy agenda.
