Sen. Danny Carroll's bill seeks to address problems in Kentucky's juvenile detention system. (Photo by Getty Images)
FRANKFORT — Kentucky would spend $22 million to build a special mental health juvenile detention facility as well as create a process to test and treat such children under a sweeping bill being discussed in the legislature.?
Sen. Danny Carroll, a West Kentucky Republican, filed Senate Bill 242 as a shell bill on the last day possible, Feb. 28. He’s since substituted the shell for a 52-page proposal on addressing mental health needs among youth offenders that comes with a price tag of around $165 million.?
“We’re a little bit late getting it out,” Carroll said during the Senate Families and Children Committee Tuesday. “But it’s because we wanted to get it as complete as we possibly could.”?
The committee, which he chairs, only discussed the bill. They may vote on it next week.?
Among other provisions, SB242 would delay a requirement for mandatory detention, which came out of 2023 legislation. A 48-hour hold for some juveniles charged with violent crimes is set to go into effect this July, but Carroll’s bill would delay it until Feb. 1, 2026.?
Carrol’s bill includes these points:?
“I think this is something that’s really going to make a difference in dealing with high acuity youth,” Carroll said in committee.??
The mental health facility, which would take at least 18 months to build and would hypothetically be on the Central State Hospital grounds, is “breaking new ground from what I understand,” Carroll said.?
It’s “really difficult to find any model in this country that’s currently doing this,” he said. “So we will have to make adjustments as we go.”?
But: “when we talk about DJJ detention, ultimately, that’s the type of facility – or the facility — that we’re talking about,” Carroll said.?
“We’re not going to have these kids — once we get this facility built — locked up in a cell, naked, sleeping in feces, no … mental treatment,” he said in committee. “That’s just not going to happen anymore with this.”??
Carroll’s bill continues work from the 2023 legislative session, which heavily featured juvenile justice and detention issues.?
Reports of violence in Kentucky’s juvenile justice system regularly made headlines in 2023, including a riot in Adair County during which a girl in state custody was allegedly sexually assaulted and employees were attacked at a youth detention center in Warren County. The department has also faced persistent staffing issues.
A January 2024 audit found “??disorganization across facilities” and a “lack of leadership from the Beshear administration,” Republican Auditor Allison Ball said at the time.?
Carroll said the audit “confirms the fears and concerns my colleagues and I expressed during last year’s DJJ workgroup efforts.”?
“Our focus is unchanged,” he said, “and our desire to help children in need and protect the public, staff and youth continues to be our top priority.”?
Carroll has submitted a budget proposal to accompany his bill asking the state to spend around $165 million on these DJJ initiatives.?
That money includes:?
“This comes with a price tag,” Carroll said. “As the budget moves forward, we have some decisions to make on this.”?
There is time, but it is tight.?
Tuesday marked the 49th day of the 60-day legislative session and is part of the final full week of proceedings. In order to maintain the ability to override any vetoes by Gov. Andy Beshear, the legislature must pass bills by March 28.?If Carroll’s bill goes up for a vote in committee next Tuesday, that would give it five scheduled session days to go through the entire process of a Senate floor vote, House committee consideration and House vote before the session breaks for the veto period on March 29.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.