Douglas County splits $40,000 eviction‑defense pilot between two providers after contentious discussion

Douglas County commissioners voted 3–2 May 13 to fund a seven‑month tenant‑eviction defense pilot, allocating $20,000 each to Kansas Legal Services (KLS) and Kansas Holistic Defenders (KHD).

Staff said the pilot responds to commissioner direction to test the impact of legal representation on eviction outcomes and to gather standardized data to inform future funding decisions. Jill Jollicar, assistant county administrator, reviewed the abbreviated RFP process and staff scoring, and described the intended outcomes and reporting requirements.

KLS and KHD both outlined approaches. Brynn (executive director, Kansas Legal Services) emphasized KLS’s existing eviction‑defense model used in Topeka and capacity to report standardized outcomes; Sam (Kansas Holistic Defenders) described ongoing Friday answer‑docket coverage in Douglas County and concerns about conflicts and practical intake triage.

Commissioners and public commenters debated two competing priorities: (a) award the pilot to the local provider already operating at eviction dockets (KHD) to build on existing intake infrastructure, or (b) award to KLS, which offered a data‑reporting template modeled on Topeka. Several commissioners expressed a desire for both organizations to collaborate; both agencies told the board that collaboration was desirable but that the tight timeline and limited funds would make an immediate, fully integrated model difficult.

A motion crafted during the meeting authorized the county administrator to contract with both KLS and KHD for the pilot, $20,000 each, and asked staff to continue work on collaborative referral and data systems and to report back on outcomes.

Public commenters included tenants and service‑sector volunteers who urged use of the agency already embedded in the local Friday answer docket; others warned that legal services alone do not solve underlying affordability problems.

Ending: The board directed staff to finalize contracts, define intake and reporting processes with the providers and return with a plan for data collection and landlord outreach as part of future pilot evaluation.