Welcome to the 25^th Judicial District Court Services Department

General Information:

Once sentencing occurs, Court Services Officers will then take the role of supervision and monitoring of the supervision plan set forth by the Court. Court Services Officers often find themselves acting as a facilitator, monitor, enforcer, community partner, counselor, and service provider to the parties involved. Court Services also provides courtesy supervision to other districts within Kansas as well as incoming (misdemeanor) and outgoing Interstate Compact transfers to other States. Clients are placed on probation after the Court suspends their underlying jail or prison sentence. This sentence will only be imposed if the Court revokes the probation. The Court Services Office would be the agency responsible for filing the required documents to initiate a Motion to Revoke Probation.

Location and hours:

Court Services is located within the Finney County Community Services Center located at 607 W. Santa Fe, Garden City, Ks 67846. Hours are Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 12:00 & 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm. The main contact number is 620-271-6150. Once assigned a CSO, you will be given their direct number. The office is closed on all State recognized holidays.

Mission Statement for Kansas Court Services:

Under the authority of the Kansas Judicial Branch and the State of Kansas Supreme Court, the purpose of Court Services is to continue the judicial process in a timely, professional, and ethical manner consistent with community interests. This is enacted by completing the responsibilities of court reports, supervision, which holds offenders accountable for their behavior, promotes public safety and improves the ability of offenders to live more productively and responsibly in the community. Currently in the 25^th Judicial District, we have a staff of 7. This number encompasses a Chief CSO, CSO II, 4 CSO II’s and an Administrative Secretary II. Our district is comprised of 6 counties; Finney – Garden City is the home county, Kearny – Lakin, Scott – Scott City, Wichita – Leoti, Hamilton – Syracuse and Greeley – Tribune. Clients placed on probation in a county other than Finney will report to a CSO assigned to that county. The CSO office is located in the Courthouse of each respective counties. Clients placed on probation in an outer county who live in Finney County will report to the CSO office in Finney County. 

Supervision Process:

Once a defendant is placed on probation, the person will be directed by the sentencing Judge or CSO to report to our office. They will be directed to complete a client information sheet and will be assigned a CSO. The CSO will then set an appointment to have the client’s probation activated. During the activation the client’s conditions of probation will be discussed with the CSO. The main conditions include: Obey the Law, Report as ordered, pay costs owed to court, No contact with victims/co-defendants, Be employed, Notify CSO of changes to residence/phone number and travel restrictions, No illegal drugs or alcohol, Be subjected to searches, Complete treatment if ordered and Possess no weapons. The 1^st meeting will take the longest because an assessment and urine sample will be completed/obtained. The client’s reporting schedule will be based on their assessment score, normally once or twice a month. Our goal is to assist the client in successfully completing their probation term. Clients may be convicted of offenses which may have resulted from mental health issues, substance abuse, poor decision making or criminogenic thinking. Our department has the ability to refer clients to community based resources using evidence based practices. We do not view ourselves as law enforcement but as a facilitator for offender reformation and community safety.

Other Services Provided:

Due to recent legislative revisions regarding juvenile supervision, our department may be required by the court to supervise juvenile offenders. However, our current caseload consists of less then 5% juvenile offenders. Our office is also responsible for preparing Presentence Investigations ordered by the Court. These reports consist of the defendant’s current crime of conviction along with any previous convictions. This will determine placement criteria based on Kansas Sentencing Guidelines.