CFJC Newsletter - September 16, 2019

The brick and mortar of the Children and Family Justice Center (CFJC) is nearing completion, but it’s the services that will be provided to youth, their families and the community that will make this building shine.  

Each courthouse level’s interior design has a King County theme; the main level of the courthouse side - The City - includes a café, community conference rooms, and a resource center. This floor will be vibrant, dynamic and community centric. 

Robert Gant, who is the Superior Court Community Partnership Manager, is enthusiastic about the opportunity to connect young people to community-based services on-site in a space that offers privacy to parents and youth. “One of the challenges at the Youth Services Center is the lack of privacy,” Gant said. “The CFJC Resource Center addresses that challenge with dedicated space and privacy, rather than meeting with families in the lobby.” 

Read the full article here. 

Crossposted from 4Culture 

Throughout the process of managing public art funds for the new Children and Family Justice Center, we’ve focused on supporting youth impacted by the facility and the juvenile justice system. Now, as we get closer to the building’s opening later this year, we’re sharing the ways in which the artists commissioned for work at the CFJC are doing the same. 

Murals Five artists were selected to create murals for the detention areas at the facility: Jesse Brown, Sophia Dawson, Blaine Fontana, Haruka Ostley, and Brian Sanchez. They spent the spring and summer developing their designs—each of their creative processes are unique and involved youth in meaningful ways. 

Ostley says, “The youth inspired me greatly, so I made sure to give them my all for this collaborative project. What textures are there to bring warmth into the space? What materials can I share that can be special for them? How can I show that they are valued and cared for?” Ostley drew on the strength and unity symbolized by Japanese koi fish in her mural. Each individual fish was designed by a young person in detention—in the mural, they move forward on a journey together.

Read the full article here. 

The project team is excited for employees and the community to enjoy a state-of-the-art facility with amenities and resources that are lacking in the current Youth Services Center. The contractor is wrapping up final finishes inside the building. The furniture and art installation will begin mid-September and October respectively.  

Click below to watch the video of the most recent construction progress. 

Here’s why the county’s $242M justice center project has so many apprentices working on it 

These advocates hope beds stay empty at the new kid jail in King County