Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas: Adult Community Corrections Advisory Board (Sept. 9, 2026)

By Sara Hanon, Kansas City Documenter

These notes were produced through Kansas City Documenters, which trains and pays community members to take fact-checked notes at public meetings, strengthening transparency and accountability in local government.

Summary

• Unified Government Community Corrections Director Phillip Lockman discussed state and local budget concerns that could affect jobs in the next couple of years. 
• The Year End Report/Agency Case Plan, presented by field services administrator Ryan Lockamy, reviewed progress made on the year’s goals and objectives.
• The board unanimously passed the agency case plan.

Notes 

Budget Discussion

• Lockman, the agency’s director, said:
  • The UG’s fiscal 2027 budget was “very, very tight” and had the potential to affect staff positions in pretrial house arrest and in the Behavioral Health Court, which provides alternatives to incarceration for people with mental health needs. He was also uncertain of appropriations for the Adult Drug Court that come from state alcohol taxes.
  • The UG might also have to cut staff based on program changes under discussion at the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC). He said the state is looking at a “complete revamp” of the way it oversees and funds local community corrections departments.
    • Various iterations of the changes Lockman has seen would decrease funding for the UG’s adult community corrections program by anywhere from $80,000 to $250,000.
    • The funding comes through the KDOC’s Adult Community Corrections Grant, and Lockman said that virtually all of that grant funding goes toward UG personnel.
    • Lockman’s understanding is that KDOC wants to have a proposal to the legislature no later than November, with potential cuts taking effect July 1, the start of the state FY28.
  • [Editor’s Note:  The UG board of commissioners on Sept. 3 adopted FY27 budgets for the city and the county. Commissioners made several last-minute moves at the meeting, so the status of the potential job cuts Lockman discussed were initially unclear.  But UG Chief Financial Officer Shelley Kneuvean told The Beacon Wednesday that funding cuts approved by the commissioners did not impact community corrections. In fact, the FY27 budget added a position to the department: a pretrial surveillance officer, to oversee offenders on supervised release.  The Community Corrections Department is slated to have 58 full-time employees this fiscal year.]

Year End Report/Agency Case Plan

• Lockamy, an administrator in the department, reviewed the year’s goals and objectives.
  • Goal 1: Develop a more structured method for staff to receive coaching and feedback from supervisors.
    • Starting in the first quarter, a short weekly questionnaire was implemented. Staff were asked about the successes and difficulties they faced during the week and their next focus area.
    • The check-in allowed supervisors to more consistently see where staff were excelling and where they may have needed extra support.
    • The “5-15 report” was designed to take five minutes for staff to fill out and 15 minutes for supervisors to examine the answers.
  • Goal 2: Reinforcement of training and skill application through a module program.
    • The training consisted of 18 modules covering skills such as the use of case management and working with the probationers.
    • Questions about the training are also included in the weekly questionnaire, allowing supervisors to address whether staff were applying what’s being learned.
  • Goal 3: Improving case plan quality for moderate to high-risk probationers.
    • A standardized checklist was implemented for supervisors to evaluate the quality of case plans.
      • This included assessing whether the plan had meaningful action steps to counter negative outside influences, known as criminogenic risk factors, such as sketchy friends, or as Lockamy put it, “stinking thinking.” 
      • Lockamy said that by the third quarter supervisors were “seeing strong connections between criminogenic risk factors and case plan goals.”
  • Board Questions
    • In response to questions from the board, Lockamy said:
      • There has been an improvement in the quality of case plans that include goals created in consideration of the criminogenic risk factors of probationers.
      • The 5-15 report was developed after employees said staff meetings were not enough for coaching, leading to the weekly check-in as a method for more specialized, personalized coaching.
      • Staff comments on the 5-15 report were “so far, so good” and that the staff seemed to appreciate the support, positive comments and reassurance from supervisors.
      • The report may switch to biweekly.
      • The board unanimously passed the Agency Case Plan.
• The board’s next meeting is scheduled for noon on Oct. 28.

Observations & Follow-Up Questions

• How many jobs could be affected by the possible change in funding in fiscal 2027?
• Would the impact and effectiveness of the 5-15 reports differ if they were changed to a biweekly schedule? 

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