Johnson County to consider delegating authority for out-of-county juvenile housing agreements

Robert Sullivan, on behalf of Johnson County Department of Corrections, asked the board to adopt a resolution delegating authority to the county manager to enter intercounty juvenile housing agreements to use available capacity at the county juvenile services center.

Sullivan said the juvenile services center is staffed for 40 beds and had "2 vacancies" at the time of the presentation; he said staffing for 40 beds remains necessary to meet no-contact orders and other operational needs. "Right now, like this morning, we have 9 youth in our facility," Sullivan said; he noted the facility peaked at 31 in the previous 12 months. Sullivan told the board stable admissions and reduced lengths of stay have produced temporary capacity the county can offer neighboring Kansas counties.

Under the proposal, participating counties would pay $150 per day per youth plus medication and off-site medical costs. Sullivan told commissioners that "we retain the right to refuse or terminate housing for any out of county youth" and that "no agreement exceeds 5 years without further review." He said the $150 daily rate generally covers the facility's marginal cost but does not fully recover average per-youth operating cost; Sullivan said average cost per youth was "a little over $400 a day" when last calculated.

Commissioners supported regional collaboration but asked for additional cost-recovery information. Commissioner Ashcraft asked whether $150 covered marginal cost; Sullivan said it "would absolutely cover marginal cost" but not full average costs. Commissioners agreed to have further briefing and to move the item to the business session for action on the June 5, 2025 agenda.