HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Director of Reno County Youth Services says they have seen an increase of young people inside the detention side of the facility. So much so that, at times, they are over capacity. He says that June was the busiest in 25 years, or since they opened the facility.
Bill Hermes says they averaged 19 juveniles per day which is capacity. He says 12 of 30 days in June they were over capacity, meaning they had to ask for an exception through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. He says if they get a request, say from Butler County, they first try to find another facility that will take the child. If not, they then end up going over capacity. He believes it may be the trend across the state this summer.
You may recall that, back in January, they decided to again take police admissions for children in need of care at the facility. They started this practice on February 1, and since then have had 74 police admissions, 50 of those from Reno County. These would be kids who are runaways, abused or neglected. He says they average three days in the facility and usually go before a judge within 72 hours to determine if they will be placed in state custody or will be allowed to go home with community services. He says in some cases, kids are taken out of homes because of what would be considered unsafe conditions or substandard homes. He says in 2013, they didn’t have any taken from homes for that reason. This year already, there have been 12.
He says at the current rate, they should be well over 100 for police admissions at the one-year point which would be in February of next year.
He also says that some of the juveniles in the facility participated in community service totaling 1,590 hours.