Prosecutor, district court urge action on attorney shortages; propose internships and guardian-ad-litem funding

District Attorney Mark Bennett and District Court officials told the county commission on May 1 that persistent attorney shortages are constraining case processing and trial capacity across multiple dockets, and asked for staffing support and targeted funding.

Bennett described the office’s effort to speed low-level case resolution and increase jury-trial throughput, and said recruitment shortages are a statewide problem: "We don't have enough lawyers in the state of Kansas right now," he said, adding that local salary increases approved in recent years helped stabilize his office’s staffing.

Bennett proposed formalizing an attorney internship program to recruit law students into summer placements that have historically served as a hiring pipeline; the package was presented as an estimated increase (total across timing) of roughly $72,000 that staff said could fall to about $62,136 if a JAG grant is secured. He said the internship model has led directly to hires in prior years and helps address long-term recruitment and training needs.

District Court leadership and Joanie Wilson pressed the commission for additional funding for guardian ad litem and other court services. Court materials cited an internal report that guardians ad litem in Sedgwick County are "routinely assigned 125 to 150 active cases" while national best practices recommend a maximum of 20–30 active cases for part-time advocates under the National Association of Counsel for Children standard. The presentation said this workload makes it "mathematically impossible" to meet ethical obligations and recommended an annual funding increase (the court asked for an annual $40,800 increase for guardian ad litem services as part of its package).

Other court requests include an $85,000 cluster/compute upgrade to support the Odyssey case-management environment and a $50,000 annual maintenance package for juvenile court facilities. The court estimated total decision-package asks near $200,800.

Commissioners asked for follow-up materials and indicated interest in better quantifying caseload data and how proposed funds would reduce backlog or outside-counsel reliance. The offices said they will return more detailed justifications and draft budget language ahead of the recommended-budget phase.

Next steps: staff to provide supplemental figures and the commission to consider the packages during upcoming budget deliberations.