Douglas County budget hearings spotlight mental health, youth crisis care
Commissioners heard a $1.5 million mental-health ask Monday, led by Bert Nash's push for a youth crisis center in Lawrence.
Douglas County commissioners opened budget hearings Monday in the commission meeting room on the second floor of the historic courthouse at 1100 Massachusetts St., with a proposed 2027 budget of $201.5 million and a mill levy set at 40.669 mills. Agencies were asking for about $1.5 million to help close gaps in mental health services.
The largest single request centered on youth crisis care. Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center is seeking county support for the Judge Jean Shepherd Youth Recovery Center, a planned facility at 3500 Clinton Place in Lawrence that would consolidate youth-focused services and expand outpatient therapy, psychological assessments, psychiatric services and related behavioral-health supports. The project is planned as the first 24/7 youth crisis intervention center in Kansas, designed for children and teens ages 6 to 17 in acute behavioral-health crisis, with a projected opening in 2027.
The county is hearing that request alongside nearly 40 other funding asks from community agencies, most of them not included in the recommended budget.
Douglas County already has one crisis-care model in place. Commissioners approved lease and operating agreements for the Treatment & Recovery Center of Douglas County at 1000 W. Second St. on April 5, 2023. The center began a phased opening on April 10, 2023, and was fully open by May 25, 2023. County leaders and Bert Nash are pursuing a youth version of that framework.
In 2025, the center sought more than $2.3 million in additional county support to maintain service levels through 2026. In May 2026, it asked for $700,000 for Treatment & Recovery Center-related needs. Douglas County’s Behavioral Health Court brings together the court, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, defense attorneys, local law enforcement, Bert Nash Behavioral Health, substance abuse treatment providers and other community-based providers.
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