OLYMPIA—The Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) on Thursday reached an agreement in a lawsuit by 13 counties, including Snohomish County, ending the freeze, which the agency said was a necessary safety measure due to overcrowding.
Two state juvenile detention facilities in Washington are once again admitting youth sentenced for crimes, after pausing intakes last month. 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.
“We appreciate the counties’ engagement on this difficult situation,” the department said in a statement. “The population at Green Hill remains significantly above capacity, our focus will continue to be the safety of staff and young people at our facility.”
A spokesperson for the agency did not immediately provide more details about the agreement.
The two sites 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.
The Washington Association of Counties sued the state over the pause, which left counties responsible for housing and providing programming for people who would have otherwise been in state custody.
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 sparked lawmakers and the state advisory board on juvenile justice to call for the resignation or firing of Department of Children, Youth and Families director Ross Hunter.
Department officials are working with legislators, counties and other stakeholders on longer-term fixes, including opening new detention space and hiring more workers.
SOURCE: This article was authored by Bill Lucia of the Washington State Standard part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Images and X posts were added by the Lynnwood Times.
