At the age of ten, however, he moved with his mother and younger brother to North Las Vegas to unite with his grandfather the late Reverend I.W.
He still recalls his upstairs neighbor, Eliza Perkins, an elderly woman whom he often visited as a child, helping her around the house or just providing company.
At the age of thirteen, Betts began the start of a career in public service by working with the Doolittle Tutorial Program, helping elementary school students with their homework.
The goal at ATA was to train students for the right profession, offering seven program areas in fields such as law, banking, commerce, and technology.
He stayed active while at ATA: he was elected president of the Law Club, was involved in the Kappa Leadership League, and participated in the Trial by Peers Program.
He also decided to become politically active in the Democratic Party and was soon running for the Kansas State House of Representatives in the 84th District, the part of Wichita where he lived with his grandmother.
He ran a small, grass roots campaign motivated by his strong personal desire to better serve and address the needs of his community.
For most of the 2003 session, which ran from January through April and into May, Betts concentrated on learning the ways of the Kansas House, sharing an office with other representatives from the Wichita area and discussing bills and resolutions with his colleagues.
He also was active in pressing for the passage of Scruffy’s Law, which increased the punishment for intentional aggravated animal cruelty from a misdemeanor to a felony.
In 2007, Betts introduced and saw passed a bill to bring about divestment of the KPERS retirement funds from companies doing business in and with Sudan until such time as the Darfur genocide ends.
In addition to the many boards and organizations he belonged to, he is a strong believer in continuing education, so he pursued his master's degree at Friends University.
In 2008 Senator Betts launched a bid for the Kansas Fourth District Congressional seat for United States Congress against 14-year incumbent Todd Tiahrt.