FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Senate voted Tuesday to make structural changes to the state’s juvenile justice system and bolster staffing to help halt a series of violent outbreaks at detention centers.
The changes come in response to violent outbreaks at detention centers.
The measure aims to ensure that young people in the system receive mental health treatment. It directs about $50 million in extra funding to bolster the troubled system.
Senate Bill 162 would require juvenile detention centers statewide be placed under the supervision of one supervisor who would report to the agency’s commissioner.
The measure would direct the department to enter contracts aimed at ensuring access to mental health treatment for young people with severe emotional disturbance or mental illness.
It would require the state to transition back to a regional model for juvenile detention centers — keeping young people closer to their homes — while separating males and females as well as violent from nonviolent offenders.
The measure won unanimous Senate passage Tuesday to advance to the House.
The issue has been at the forefront of the legislative session. It follows a string of assaults, riots and escapes as the state-run juvenile justice system struggles to house increasing numbers of young people accused of violent offenses.
