“As Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill Monday overhauling the Kansas juvenile justice system, a Johnson County program the changes are partly based on is serving as a model for efforts to divert low-risk offenders from detention.

“The new system will keep more juvenile offenders in their homes while they participate in community-based programs that focus on anger management and other behavioral changes. A system overhaul will divert money from the construction and maintenance of jails to detention alternatives. The measure is in part a reaction to 2013 U.S. Department of Justice data showing that Kansas had the sixth-highest incarceration rate for young offenders in the nation.”