TOPEKA, Kansas One solution to Kansas prisons woes could come with a $35 million price tag for three new specialty prisons.
The states corrections system only treats half of its inmates who struggle with substance abuse. And as some people serve decades-long sentences, the system finds itself home to more elderly prisoners who need special care as they age.
Lawmakers created the Kansas Criminal Justice Reform Commission to address those issues, as well as chronic overcrowding that resulted in hundreds of inmates being sent to a private prison in Arizona earlier this year.