A summary of the major changes of the reform is given below. Enhanced Accountability Parents of juvenile offenders may be assessed the cost of certain services, such as probation and correctional services. When a juvenile offender is 18 years old, he or she can be assessed those costs.
Courts now can order families into counseling.
Parents' health insurance policies may be billed to pay for the youth s care while in state custody. Drug treatment and medical care for juveniles have previously been paid for by the state of Kansas, as most insurance companies policies would not cover those expenses when a juvenile was in state custody. The period of time a juvenile offender can be sentenced to a juvenile correctional facility has been lengthened beyond the former age limit of 21 years old. With the new change, authorities can now keep an offender until he or she is 23 years old. Juvenile offenders as young as 10 years old who commit certain crimes, may be prosecuted as adults, subject to court approval.