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Session of 2026
SENATE BILL No. 414
By Committee on Judiciary
1-28
AN ACT concerning children and minors; relating to juvenile crisis
intervention centers; authorizing funding from the evidence-based
programs account to be used for licensed residential facilities that have
behavioral health crisis intervention programs for juveniles; amending
K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 65-536 and repealing the existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 65-536 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 65-536. (a) A juvenile crisis intervention center is a facility that
provides short-term observation, assessment, treatment and case planning,
and referral for any juvenile who is experiencing a behavioral health crisis
and is likely to cause harm to self or others. Such centers shall:
(1) Address or ensure access to the broad range of services to meet
the needs of a juvenile admitted to the center, including, but not limited to,
medical, psychiatric, psychological, social, educational and substance
abuse-related services;
(2) not include construction features designed to physically restrict
the movements and activities of juveniles, but shall have a design,
structure, interior and exterior environment, and furnishings to promote a
safe, comfortable and therapeutic environment for juveniles admitted to
the center;
(3) implement written policies and procedures that include the use of
a combination of supervision, inspection and accountability to promote
safe and orderly operations; and
(4) implement written policies and procedures for staff monitoring of
all center entrances and exits.
(b) A juvenile crisis intervention center shall provide treatment to
juveniles admitted to such center, as appropriate while admitted.
(c) A juvenile crisis intervention center may be on the same premises
as that of another licensed facility. If the juvenile crisis intervention center
is on the same premises as that of another licensed facility, the living unit
of the juvenile crisis intervention center shall be maintained in a separate,
self-contained unit. No juvenile crisis intervention center shall be in a city
or county jail or a juvenile detention facility.
(d) (1) A juvenile may be admitted to a juvenile crisis intervention
center when:
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(A) The head of such center determines such juvenile is in need of
treatment and likely to cause harm to self or others;
(B) a qualified mental health professional from a community mental
health center has given written authorization for such juvenile to be
admitted to a juvenile crisis intervention center; and
(C) no other more appropriate treatment services are available and
accessible to the juvenile at the time of admission.
(2) A juvenile may be admitted to a juvenile crisis intervention center
for not more than 30 days. A parent with legal custody or legal guardian of
a juvenile placed in a juvenile crisis intervention center may remove such
juvenile from the center at any time. If the removal may cause the juvenile
to become a child in need of care pursuant to K.S.A. 38-2202(d), and
amendments thereto, the head of a juvenile crisis intervention center may
report such concerns to the department for children and families or law
enforcement or may request the county or district attorney to initiate
proceedings pursuant to the revised Kansas code for care of children. If the
head of a juvenile crisis intervention center determines the most
appropriate action is to request the county or district attorney to initiate
proceedings pursuant to the revised Kansas code for care of children, the
head of such center shall make such request and shall keep such juvenile in
the center for an additional 24-hour period to initiate the appropriate
proceedings.
(3) When a juvenile is released from a juvenile crisis intervention
center, the managed care organization, if the juvenile is a medicaid
recipient, and the community mental health center serving the area where
the juvenile is being discharged shall be involved with discharge planning.
Within seven days prior to the discharge of a juvenile, the head of the
juvenile crisis intervention center shall give written notice of the date and
time of the discharge to the patient, the managed care organization, if the
juvenile is a medicaid recipient, and the community mental health center
serving the area where the juvenile is being discharged, and the patient's
parent, custodian or legal guardian.
(e) (1) Upon admission to a juvenile crisis intervention center, and if
the juvenile is a medicaid recipient, the managed care organization shall
approve services as recommended by the head of the juvenile crisis
intervention center. Within 14 days after admission, the head of the
juvenile crisis intervention center shall develop a plan of treatment for the
juvenile in collaboration with the managed care organization.
(2) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the department of health and
environment from administering or reimbursing state medicaid services to
any juvenile admitted to a juvenile crisis intervention center pursuant to a
waiver granted under section 1915(c) of the federal social security act,
provided that such services are not administered through a managed care
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delivery system.
(3) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the department of health
and environment from reimbursing any state medicaid services that qualify
for reimbursement and that are provided to a juvenile admitted to a
juvenile crisis intervention center.
(4) Nothing in this subsection shall impair or otherwise affect the
validity of any contract in existence on July 1, 2018, between a managed
care organization and the department of health and environment to provide
state medicaid services.
(5) On or before January 1, 2019, the secretary of health and
environment shall submit to the United States centers for medicare and
medicaid services any approval request necessary to implement this
subsection.
(f) The secretary for children and families, in consultation with the
attorney general, shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the
provisions of this section on or before January 1, 2019.
(g) The secretary for children and families shall annually report
information on outcomes of juveniles admitted into juvenile crisis
intervention centers to the J. Russell (Russ) Jennings joint committee on
corrections and juvenile justice oversight, the corrections and juvenile
justice committee of the house of representatives and the judiciary
committee of the senate. Such report shall include:
(1) The number of admissions, releases and the lengths of stay for
juveniles admitted to juvenile crisis intervention centers;
(2) services provided to juveniles admitted;
(3) needs of juveniles admitted determined by evidence-based
assessment; and
(4) success and recidivism rates, including information on the
reduction of involvement of the child welfare system and juvenile justice
system with the juvenile.
(h) The secretary of corrections may enter into memorandums of
agreement with other cabinet agencies to provide funding, not to exceed
$2,000,000 annually, from the evidence-based programs account of the
state general fund or other available appropriations for juvenile crisis
intervention services provided by a licensed juvenile crisis intervention
center or other residential facility licensed by the Kansas department for
children and families or the Kansas department for aging and disability
services that has a program purpose of behavioral health crisis
intervention for juveniles.
(i) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Behavioral health crisis" means behavioral and conduct issues
that impact the safety or health of a juvenile, members of the juvenile's
household or family or members of the community, including, but not
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limited to, non-life threatening mental health and substance abuse
concerns;
(2) "head of a juvenile crisis intervention center" means the
administrative director of a juvenile crisis intervention center or such
person's designee;
(3) "juvenile" means a person who is less than 18 years of age;
(4) "likely to cause harm to self or others" means that a juvenile, by
reason of the juvenile's behavioral health condition, mental disorder or
mental condition is likely, in the reasonably foreseeable future, to cause
substantial physical injury or physical abuse to self or others or substantial
damage to another's property, as evidenced by behavior threatening,
attempting or causing such injury, abuse or damage;
(5) "treatment" means any service intended to promote the mental
health of the patient and rendered by a qualified professional, licensed or
certified by the state to provide such service as an independent practitioner
or under the supervision of such practitioner; and
(6) "qualified mental health professional" means a physician or
psychologist who is employed by a participating mental health center or
who is providing services as a physician or psychologist under a contract
with a participating mental health center, a licensed masters level
psychologist, a licensed clinical psychotherapist, a licensed marriage and
family therapist, a licensed clinical marriage and family therapist, a
licensed professional counselor, a licensed clinical professional counselor,
a licensed specialist social worker or a licensed master social worker or a
registered nurse who has a specialty in psychiatric nursing, who is
employed by a participating mental health center and who is acting under
the direction of a physician or psychologist who is employed by, or under
contract with, a participating mental health center.
(j) This section shall be a part of and supplemental to article 5 of
chapter 65 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 65-536 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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