Riddel Boys Ranch is located west of Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The future of a Sedgwick County juvenile home for boys is in doubt, after a long-range funding solution for the struggling operation died in a Kansas House committee.
Sedgwick County commissioners previously said the Judge Riddel Boys Ranch would close June 30 if the state didn’t provide more funding. Getting short-term funding hinged on a long-term funding solution that did not advance Tuesday in the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee.
The ranch nearly closed last year before the state provided an additional $750,000 to keep it open.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the county receives a state reimbursement of $126 per boy per day, but it has told the state it needs $201 per day to cover costs.
The facility currently serves 32 boys.