KDOC cuts sex offender budget

4-15-2010 Kansas:

The Kansas Department of Corrections responded to budget problems by dropping a contract for psychological consultants who play a key role in determining whether the state initiates civil commitment proceedings against violent sexual offenders, the attorney general said Thursday.

Attorney General Steve Six sent letters to legislative leaders outlining concern about how the budget decision posed a threat to public safety.

"The work of these forensic psychologists is vital to the process of determining which violent offenders must be committed indefinitely to the Sexually Violent Predator treatment program," Six said. "The failure to act to restore funding for these psychologists will increase the likelihood of sexually violent predators re-entering society."

Six said the corrections department severed a contract April 1 with Correct Care Solutions, which provides forensic psychologists to perform evaluations on inmates under consideration for parole. The diagnosis by these psychologists is relied upon by the attorney general's office when determining whether to initiative civil proceedings in district court.

"My prosecutors will be forced to rely upon outdated and incomplete psychological assessments that may not accurately assess the offenders' risk to society," the attorney general said.

Six said the Kansas Parole Board used the same reports when generating assessments on the potential of prisoners reoffending. If the Legislature restored $67,500 in funding in the current fiscal year and $270,000 for the subsequent fiscal year, the money should be allocated to the Kansas Parole Board rather than KDOC, he said. The corrections department agreed with shift of that funding to the parole board.

Millions of dollars have been cut from the KDOC budget in the past two years and the Republican-led Legislature has yet to resolve a budget deficit currently estimated to be more than $400 million for the fiscal year starting July 1.

KDOC spokesman Bill Miskell said the correction's department's health care budget had to be reduced by $3.8 million under the next contract and a portion of that streamlining was advanced to the current fiscal year. The contract with forensic psychologists was dropped because the work was not a "core function" of medical or mental health services required of the prison system, he said.

"A number of important services and staff were eliminated as a result of these reductions," Miskell said.

The attorney general said reductions in state spending on public safety had been excessive over the past two legislative sessions.

"The Legislature has inflicted dramatic budget cuts to public safety agencies in Kansas. These cuts have gone too far. I urge legislators that voted in favor of these budget cuts to reflect on what is truly important to Kansans. Public safety is not a political bargaining chip,": Six said.

Six sent the documents to House and Senate leader and the budget committee chairmen.

Under Kansas law, the attorney general is responsible for handling civil commitment cases of sexual predators as they complete prison sentences. More than 150 individuals have been incarcerated indefinitely in Kansas after state prosecutors demonstrated an offender was likely to commit violent sexual crimes if released. ..Source..