Douglas County, Kansas has a population of 112,000. Its county-seat, Lawrence, is an urban bedroom community, home to the University of Kansas and situated equally between the state capital of Topeka and metropolitan Kansas City. Although violent crime reports have decreased 7% in Douglas County over the past 4 years, overall crime index offenses have increased 12%, most notably in property and theft-related offenses.
The Douglas County Correctional Facility in Lawrence is a 188 bed facility holding a population consisting of pre-trial (58%), sentenced (27%), pending transport to the Kansas Department of Corrections (9%) and awaiting or admitted to state security hospitals (6%) inmates. The facility encompasses a full booking unit; minimum, medium and maximum classification units; a multi-classification women’s unit; and a 46 bed work release center. The Douglas County jail population reflects the issues that jail facilities grapple with nationwide. 17% of Douglas County inmates identified themselves as homeless; 78% indicated that alcohol and/or drug abuse has resulted in social, economic and/or legal problems; and 40% of the facility’s pharmaceutical expenses are for psychotropic medications.
“As a part of our department’s mission to provide effective and efficient public safety services to our citizens, we embrace this opportunity with the Transition from Jail to Community project. A reentry effort isn’t just the jail’s responsibility: It is a system of partners throughout our communities,” says Douglas County Sheriff Ken McGovern.
TJC project assistance will assist jail staff, community stakeholders and government leaders to come together and build upon a foundation already laid for a reentry effort in Douglas County. TJC technical assistance will fill knowledge gaps and systematically help address successful reentry in Douglas County. TJC’s evaluation component will document activities and processes, gauge whether implementation of the model is on track, and improve the initiative’s overall operations for targeting public safety.
As Douglas County Commissioner Charles Jones says: “In addition to advancing an enlightened manner of dealing with jail inmates and increasing the likelihood of their healthy return to the community, the reentry initiative holds our best hope for reducing the spiraling costs associated with incarceration and recidivism.”
Additional information on Douglas County’s reentry efforts is available in this factsheet and in their Reentry Newsletters: Issue 1, March 2008; Issue 2, May 2008; and Issue 3, June 2008.
For more information, contact Douglas County Reentry Director Shannon Murphy: smurphy@douglas-county.com.
