Warren County is seeing positive effects from Kentucky Senate Bill 200

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.-Warren County is home to a state juvenile detention center and because of the Juvenile Justice Reform Bill, also known as Kentucky Senate Bill 200, that center is not nearly as full as it used to be. The national chairman for the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, Edward Palmer, said this is being noticed.

“Some exciting things are happening in Kentucky. So exciting, that other jurisdictions across the country are taking note of the juvenile justice approach that Kentucky has taken since 2014,” Palmer said.

The overall goals of the 2014 reform are to keep children out of court and engage families.

Officials said it’s because Warren County offers resources for children to help them stay on track, such as school resource officers.

Regional supervisor of the Court Designated Worker Program Michelle Sawyers said the number of reports and criminal complaints involving juveniles has decreased drastically since the bill’s passage.

“One of the things that we’ve seen over the past six years is that we have a 53% decrease in the number of complaints we’ve received here in Warren County,” Sawyers said.

Sawyers said major offenses like drug use and shoplifting have also seen a substantial decrease.

“Ninety-five percent of our cases here in Warren County are low level offenses, versus only 5% being a high-level offense,” Sawyers said.

Executive officer of the administrative office of the courts Rachel Bingham said even in Frankfort, the impact of Kentucky Senate Bill 200 is being seen all the way at the state capitol.

“We’ve seen with Senate Bill 200 that the intent of the bill has actually come to fruition, and that was to give more kids the opportunity to be diverted. To have community-based supports that are really going to give kids not just an individual type approach, but also a holistic, ‘how can we support our youth in the communities and in their families with supports and resources they need,’” Bingham said.