Douglas County weighs more funding for court self-help services

Douglas County commissioners spent budget hearings weighing whether to add two courthouse jobs at the Douglas County District Court Self-Help Center: a $97,822 district court navigator and a $67,363 eviction diversion coordinator. The center is free, serves people representing themselves, and sits at the center of the county’s tenant eviction defense pilot.

Residents who walk into Douglas County District Court without a lawyer often need help sorting out deadlines, paperwork and options before a housing dispute, family matter or debt case turns into a default judgment or a loss of rights. The self-help center also serves as the referral hub for the county’s eviction defense pilot, which helps eligible tenants stabilize housing, prevent homelessness and keep access to clean and safe housing.

The pilot now runs from June 1 through December 31, 2026. Commissioners approved its process on April 22 by a 3-1 vote, with Gene Dorsey opposed and Erica Anderson absent. The program was first approved in March and uses $40,000 already in the 2026 county budget for eviction prevention activities. County staff planned to use pilot data and participant feedback to decide whether to continue or expand it, tracking outcomes such as dismissals, negotiated agreements and cases where tenants vacate their homes.

The staffing request sits on top of temporary money that is already scheduled to run out. The district court navigator was created in 2025 with federal American Rescue Plan Act money, but that funding is set to expire in December 2026. The eviction diversion coordinator is currently funded through a mix of county dollars and grant support, and that grant money also expires in 2026.

County staff proposed a $201.5 million 2027 budget with a flat property-tax rate of 40.669 mills, and commissioners told staff in May to prepare a flat mill levy. At the state level, Kansas awarded $900,000 in fiscal year 2026 Access to Justice grants, including $715,108 to Kansas Legal Services and $86,250 to Kansas Holistic Defenders for the Douglas County Civil Attorney Project, which began in 2023.

Lawrence Tenants urged commissioners in September 2025 to adopt a tenants’ right-to-counsel ordinance by Oct. 1, arguing for courtroom representation, legal advice and advocacy. When commissioners later set up the pilot, they split the $40,000 allocation between Kansas Legal Services and Kansas Holistic Defenders after failing to settle on one provider. Commissioner Shannon Reid said she wanted both groups involved, while county staff had initially recommended Kansas Legal Services because it already helped run a similar eviction-defense model in Topeka.