Promise seen in new juvenile justice approach

GB Tribune
By: Dale Hogg

---

Pilot program keeping offenders in their homes going statewide

February marks the first year of the implementation for a new approach to juvenile justice in Southeast Kansas, and state and local officials say it will now be expanded to address juvenile offenders statewide.

For the past year, courts in southeast Kansas have been employing an effective alternative to removing youth from their homes or confining them, known as Functional Family Therapy. Extending this approach statewide will further advance the state’s goal to keep juveniles in their homes by using alternatives to sentencing.