TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Fewer juveniles have been arrested and held in the Kansas juvenile justice system while the state has been investing in alternatives to incarceration, according to a recent study.

The Pew Charitable Trusts found that the number of juvenile arrests in Kansas fell by 29% between 2015 and 2017, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. The state's population of youth placed in detention facilities or group homes declined by 63% from 2015 to 2018, researchers said.

The changes align with when Kansas began funneling budget savings into community-based therapy and intervention program...