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UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1218
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AN ACT relating to juvenile justice, making an appropriation therefor, and 1
declaring an emergency. 2
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 3
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 15A IS CREATED TO 4
READ AS FOLLOWS: 5
(1) There is hereby created in the Department of Juvenile Justice a trust and agency 6
account to be known as the juvenile services fund. The fund shall consist of 7
moneys received from state appropriations, gifts, grants, and federal funds. 8
(2) The fund shall be administered by the Department of Juvenile Justice. 9
(3) Amounts deposited in the fund shall be used for: 10
(a) Delinquency prevention and early intervention services for youths; 11
(b) Providing individualized, community-based wraparound services for justice-12
involved youths and their families; 13
(c) Alternatives to detention; and 14
(d) Re-entry programs and facilities. 15
(4) Notwithstanding KRS 45.229, fund amounts not expended at the close of a fiscal 16
year shall not lapse but shall be carried forward into the next fiscal year. 17
(5) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide a report on or before September 18
30 of each year to the Legislative Research Commission for referral to the 19
Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary, detailing: 20
(a) The total amount of funds from the juvenile services fund disbursed since 21
the last reporting period; 22
(b) A list of each organization awarded funding from the juvenile services fund 23
during the reporting period; 24
(c) The type of service each organization awarded funding during the reporting 25
period intends to deliver; 26
(d) The total amount awarded to each organization during the reporting period; 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1218
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and 1
(e) Any impacts or trends on juvenile delinquency rates, recidivism r ates, and 2
detention numbers since the last reporting period. 3
(6) The General Assembly recognizes that expenditures on delinquency prevention, 4
wraparound services, reentry, and alternatives to detention reduce juvenile 5
delinquency, recidivism, and involvem ent in the adult justice system, and 6
therefore finds that: 7
(a) The fund established by this section should receive significant funding, 8
indicative of the Commonwealth's commitment to the future of our youths; 9
and 10
(b) The General Assembly should shift the f unding priorities in juvenile justice 11
to reduce the incarceration of youths and increase the use of supportive 12
programming. 13
Section 2. There is hereby appropriated General Fund money in the amount of 14
$10,000,000 in fiscal year 2026-2027 to the juvenile services fund created in Section 1 of 15
this Act. 16
Section 3. Whereas Kentucky has a paramount interest in reducing the number 17
of incarcerated youths, and the General Assembly is committed t o ensuring transparency 18
and rigorous evaluation of investments to this end, an emergency is declared to exist, and 19
this Act takes effect on July 1, 2026. 20