The Douglas County Commission on Wednesday will vote on a project that aims to provide respite housing and support for residents with mental illness and substance use disorders. Commissioners will consider entering into a memorandum of understanding with a Kansas City, Mo.-based nonprofit, Artists Helping the Homeless, for the project. “By partnering with (AHH), clients will not only be housed, but also ...
An upcoming event aims to update Douglas County residents on behavioral health initiatives that are underway. “New Directions in Behavioral Health” is scheduled for 5:30 to 7 p.m. Monday, May 6 in the auditorium of the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St. Bob Tryanski, the county’s director of behavioral health projects, will share an overview and then moderate a panel discussion, according to a ...
In 2017, African American youths outnumbered white youths in admissions to the juvenile detention center of Douglas County, where the population is 83.5% white. That year, the Douglas County youths admitted to the JDC were approximately 41% white, 49.5% African American, 6.7% Native American and 2.9% Asian. In 2018, the percentages were roughly 48%, 44.9%, 5.5% and 1.6%, respectively, according to numbers from ...
Pam Weigand told Douglas County commissioners during their Wednesday work session that Kansas’ numbers of juvenile cases, intake assessments and youths involved in court programs are all trending downward. So is the population of the local juvenile detention center, the director of Douglas County Criminal Justice Services said. “To be honest, I've never thought I'd see the day we wouldn't need it, but ...
None of the three Douglas County commissioners was eager to move to approve the next year’s health plan for county employees on Wednesday. Interim County Administrator Sarah Plinsky had told commissioners at a March 20 work session that the county’s “extremely low deductible” health plan would not be sustainable. For the 2019-2020 plan year, the county has dodged major changes; however, staff will be ...
The Douglas County Commission’s work session on Wednesday will focus on Criminal Justice Services’ youth programs, including alternatives to incarceration and the future of the Juvenile Detention Center. Pam Weigand, the county’s director of Criminal Justice Services, will give a presentation that explains the various programs available to a juvenile offender, or JO, and child in need of care, or CINC. ...