Sedgwick County Youth Program to Close November 11, 2017

Today Sedgwick County Commissioners approved the decision to discontinue the Sedgwick County Youth Program (SCYP) operations effective November 11, 2017. SCYP is a 15-bed residential re-entry program for male juvenile offenders between the ages of 16 ½ and 22. The PREA-certified program is operated by Sedgwick County Division of Corrections and licensed by Kansas Department of Children and Families. There are currently no clients in this program.

The primary goal of the program is to supervise youth in an independent living structure. While in SCYP, clients learn how to gain and maintain employment, life skills, cognitive behavior programming, make connections to community services, and development of housing plans for release. The length of stay varies from 30 to 120 days based on the individual goals of each youth and their supervision plan.

Due to changes at the state level from Senate Bill 367 all Youth Residential Center IIs, like SCYP, were notified by the State of eligibility changes for all residential clients in August 2017. Based on the new criteria, SCYP will no longer be a residential option for youth residential services when these changes take effect in January 2018. Sedgwick County does not anticipate any reductions in force (layoffs) from closing the program.

Currently, the Division of Corrections and the Sedgwick County Sheriff are researching collaborative options to better utilize the Adult Residential Facility which is co-located with SCYP. If the facility expands, adult offenders in custody will receive assistance with employment, evidence-based programming, and substance abuse counseling.

The Sedgwick County Youth Program (SCYP) has been operating as a youth re-entry program since 1981 in various housing situations. It began using the apartment model and moved quickly to group home model. SCYP grew to a larger residential facility model. The current building was purchased by Sedgwick County and remodeled for correctional residential care in 2001.

PREA definition: Prison Rape Elimination Act - a federal law requiring Sedgwick County to educate, prevent, eliminate, and meet national standards to keep clients safe and report any sexual misconducts between clients or between clients and staff.

Youth Residential Center II definition: A 24-hour group home or residential facility that meets the state’s requirements for non-secure services.