Great Bend was the meeting place recently for the official kick-off of the Stepping Up for Youth Initiative, which supports young people involved in the juvenile justice system and those at risk of becoming involved.
Barton County is one of only seven Kansas counties chosen for this pilot program. The meeting at the Great Bend Events Center was a full-day training session for professionals from the local area and around the state.
Marissa Woodmansee, Juvenile Services director, said there was “good representation from my peers throughout Kansas, as well as representatives from schools, detention centers, the Kansas Legislature and Kansas Department for Children and Families.
“A highlight for me was connecting with representatives of the six other pilot sites,” Woodmansee said. “It was gratifying to learn that we are all at the same stage of our preparation for this new project. These relationships will be invaluable as we build this pilot program.
“The recent training complemented our local expertise and will guide us on innovative approaches to help young people with behavioral issues, while providing support to their parents.”
The other counties involved are Shawnee, Franklin, Johnson, Bourbon, Sedgwick and Seward.
“These counties face the same issues we do,” Woodmansee commented. “We all work with foster-care children, blended families, criminal charges and parents who need resources. If a young person is in the system now, we want to prevent the escalation of problems, while supporting kids at risk of becoming part of the system.”
Next steps
Throughout the pilot program, the local Stepping Up group will collaborate with The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, which is spearheading the youth initiative. The CSG Justice Center approved Woodmansee’s application to participate in the pilot program.
During upcoming months, local stakeholders will tackle several issues as they build a consensus and implement an outreach plan to seek others who should be involved.
Guiding principles include prevention and early intervention; research-based outcomes; early and easy access to community-based services; and broadening the focus beyond law-enforcement interventions.
“All of us appreciate CSG and its efforts to support young people,” Woodmansee said. “Our group plans to meet monthly as we grow this program locally.”
The CSG Justice Center
Audra Goldsmith, CSG Justice Center project manager of the Behavioral Health Division, reported that approximately 100 people attended the May 13 training in Great Bend.
“This was our biggest event yet; the turnout was truly inspiring,” Goldsmith said. “The audience was filled with compassionate, hard-working and devoted individuals who strive to better the lives of people living with a mental illness and experiencing the justice system.
“I am always honored to have opportunities to work with them.”
Goldsmith noted that Barton County was among the first to show interest in the pilot program and was “well-positioned to participate because of its experience as a Kansas Stepping Up Innovator County in 2022.”
This designation was earned after the county passed a Stepping Up resolution for adults in 2019, which led to a collaborative approach to reduce the incarceration of people with mental-health and/or substance-use needs.
Barton County is known for implementing the Jail Program, which uses validated screening and assessment tools in the Barton County Detention Facility. The Center for Counseling & Consultation, law-enforcement officials and others play a role in its success.
“This accomplishment demonstrated local leaders’ ability to collect accurate and timely data, which is essential to understanding the scope of the problem,” Goldsmith commented. “They also developed a strategic action plan that effectively uses scarce resources and tracks progress over time.”
The CSG Justice Center is a national non-profit, nonpartisan organization serving state officials with policy and research expertise to develop strategies that increase public safety and strengthen communities.
The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services partnered with The CSG Justice Center to launch the Kansas Stepping Up Technical Assistance Center in 2021.
“The primary goal is to help Kansas counties adopt and implement the Stepping Up framework to reduce the number of people with serious mental illnesses in Kansas’s jails and the justice system,” Goldsmith summarized.
20th Judicial District Juvenile Services empowers youth in Barton, Rice, Ellsworth, Stafford and Russell counties to achieve positive outcomes by offering Juvenile Intake & Assessment, Immediate Intervention, Intensive Supervised Probation, Case Management, Journey to Change, Life Skills, All Stars and Youth Crew. Parents and guardians also are offered The Parent Project. Visit 1800 12th in Great Bend or call 620-793-1930.
