Gov. Beshear signed legislation to improve juvenile justice system
FRANKFORT, Ky. (KFVS) - On Monday, March 27, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed two pieces of legislation to implement sweeping improvements in the state’s juvenile justice system.
According to a release from the governor’s office, Gov. Beshear signed Senate Bill 162 and House Bill 3 into law, which implement changes and budgetary items he and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Kerry Harvey presented in a request to the General Assembly on February 14.
“We told the General Assembly what was needed to better protect our juveniles and staff, and while these two bills don’t include everything needed, they do contain critical funding for staff, equipment and the work needed to renovate the downtown Louisville facility,” Gov. Beshear said.
The release said Senate Bill 162 appropriates more than $25 million to the Department of Juvenile Justice for staff salaries, facility security upgrades, transportation costs and enhanced programming. The bill also recognizes the need to better serve those youth with severe mental health issues and divert them to more appropriate care. It will provide the Department of Corrections with $30 million in funding to increase new and current correctional officer salaries to a minimum of $50,000 annually.
“These two pieces of legislation are necessary steps in improving our juvenile justice system and build on the improvements we have already implemented to modernize a system that has changed very little over the last twenty years,” Secretary Harvey said.
According to the release, House Bill 3 will provide around $20 million to assess and redesign the Jefferson County Youth Detention Center in downtown Louisville, which has not been in operation since 2019 when Louisville Metro Government requested the Dept. of Juvenile Justice take over the responsibility of detaining charged and committed juveniles. Since that time, juveniles from Jefferson Co. and surrounding counties have been housed at the Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Lyndon. With a high-security facility in downtown Louisville, the department will be able to better assist Louisville Metro Police Dept. and the judicial system by being more centrally located.
Additionally, the Dept. of Juvenile Justice has been implementing a number of steps to enhance youth and staff safety under the Beshear-Coleman Administration’s improvements to the juvenile justice system plan. More information on the plan can be found here.
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