by Bill Lucia, Washington State Standard
August 9, 2024
Two state juvenile detention facilities in Washington are once again admitting youth sentenced for crimes, after a pause that began last month.
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families said Friday it had reached an agreement with counties ending the freeze on admissions, which the agency said was a necessary safety measure due to overcrowding. The Washington Association of Counties sued in response.
Intakes at the Echo Glen Children’s Center in Snoqualmie resumed a few weeks ago, according to the department and restarted Friday at the Green Hill School in Chehalis.
“The settlement represents a good faith effort to work with partners on a long-term resolution to the overcrowding at Green Hill School,” said Nancy Gutierrez, a spokesperson for the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. “The safety risks remain, and DCYF continues to take steps to ensure the safety of the staff and the young people at the school.”
The department also said that the population at Green Hill remains “significantly above capacity.”
Green Hill and Echo Glen are the state’s only medium and maximum security facilities for juvenile offenders. When announcing the intake suspension, the department said young people entering its juvenile facilities outnumbered releases over the last year, and sentences are getting longer.
But the pause on admissions at the facilities left counties responsible for housing and providing programming for people who would have otherwise been in state custody.
“We were caught completely off guard by the decision,” said Derek Young, Washington Association of Counties’ interim executive director.
The agreement sets requirements for the state to provide transportation for juvenile offenders to the state facilities. And it calls for the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to give at least 10 days of notice to counties for future restrictions on admissions.
“This resolution will help ensure juvenile offenders receive the care and supervision they require. Our primary goal is to protect the safety and well-being of our communities,” said Lisa Janicki, Washington State Association of Counties president and a Skagit County commissioner.
Young emphasized that the agreement leaves open the option for the counties to revive their litigation if the department restricts admissions at the juvenile detention centers in the future.
He also said the deal offers pathways for willing counties to work with the state to provide space for juvenile rehabilitation. He suggested this would most likely involve the state taking over and operating these facilities, as opposed to counties running them.
“The long term solution is we need more investment into this system to make sure this never happens again, and that’s gonna start with the Legislature. So that’s something we’ll be joining the governor, DCYF and asking for this next session,” Young added.
A 2018 law, known as “Juvenile Rehabilitation to 25,” expanded the ages eligible to be housed in juvenile facilities. Meanwhile, the state closed one of its juvenile detention centers, Naselle Youth Camp, in 2022, which held up to 150 young men ages 16-25.
When the agency stopped taking in youth at the two facilities, it ignited several controversies.
In addition to the counties’ lawsuit, the department received blowback for its decision to transfer 43 young men between the ages of 21 to 25 from Green Hill School to state prison. A state judge ordered the reversal of that move.
The episode also spurred lawmakers and the state advisory board on juvenile justice to call for the resignation or firing of Department of Children, Youth and Families secretary Ross Hunter.
Gov. Jay Inslee’s office didn’t directly respond to questions on Friday about whether Hunter still had the governor’s full support or Inslee’s stance on whether the secretary should step aside.
Inslee’s communications director, Jaime Smith, said in an email that the governor “made clear to Secretary Hunter that the path forward” would require the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to work with legislators and others in three areas.
These include better data sharing with counties to accurately plan and forecast how much space is needed in juvenile detention centers, and building legislative support to both add capacity at the facilities and to hire and retain more staff.
“We are glad that DCYF and the counties were able to reach an agreement,” Smith added.
This story was updated with additional comment.
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