A Message from our Care & Closure Team
Care & Closure is King County’s plan for youth healing, accountability, and community safety. The plan outlines recommendations and next actions to expand community-based alternatives to secure youth detention and close the youth detention center. We share updates and upcoming opportunities to be involved in the project each month.
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Improving Care for Youth in Custody Today
While we envision and build alternatives to secure youth detention, we must also continue improving care for those in our custody today. DAJD has recently expanded the number of community partners providing programs in detention, including credible messenger mentoring, music, and personal goal development. The new groups include Progress Pushers, Cocreative Culture, Pro Se Potential, andThe Silent Task Force.
DAJD has also recently rolled out a new program providing secure computer tablets to youth in custody. Youth can now make free calls to their parents or guardians without waiting for a shared phone and have access to a vast library of e-books, podcasts, educational materials, legal research, and mental health and substance use resources.
You can learn more about the new programming at the youth detention center here.
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Join Us at the Next Advisory Committee Meeting
We have reconvened the Advisory Committee to specifically discuss two Care & Closure recommendations – the proposed respite and receiving center and short-term respite housing – that require more deliberation. The Advisory Committee meetings are held on the fourth Monday of each month from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. unless there is a holiday.
Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the next meeting will be this Monday, June 3 at 4 p.m. You can find more information on the meetings and the previous meeting notes on the project website.
Informational Webinar Recording & Materials
We hosted an informational webinar last Thursday share more information about the Care & Closure recommendations and next actions. We highlighted each of the six recommendations, how they were developed, and how the Executive Office is moving the work forward. Celia Jackson from the Executive’s Office and Jeneva Cotton from the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention also answered questions from the audience.
You can find a recording of the webinar here and a handout of key findings from the webinar
King County Council Discussion on Youth Detention
As we mentioned in April's monthly update, the King County Council has been discussing our recommendations for building a future without youth detention in King County. The conversations about this important work continue as we make progress on strategy and implementation planning actions outlined in the report.
One recent development is that Councilmember Dunn has introduced a motion to the Law and Justice Committee “declaring the intent of the King County Council to maintain operations of the Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center.” It is anticipated that this motion will be discussed in a future Law and Justice Committee meeting in the coming months, and members of the public can provide public comment and share their perspectives with the Committee. You can learn more about the Law and Justice Committee, its Councilmembers, and how to provide public comment on the committee website here.
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King County Executive on Local Radio Show
Earlier this month, Executive Constantine joined Urban Forum Northwest, a live radio show hosted by Eddie Rye Jr. In that interview, Executive Constantine highlighted that youth detention does not produce the outcomes we all hope for youth in King County and instead disproportionately harms youth of color.
“The fact is that what we are doing in the criminal legal system isn’t working. It is not getting the outcomes we want which is for youth to get back on track, be able to grow up and be healthy and contributing members of the community... and if we know that and we know that incarceration ultimately does not benefit but actually harms kids, causing them to be more likely to re-offend, then we are morally compelled to do something about it and take a different approach.” - Executive Dow Constantine
You can find a recording of the full interview here.
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Quick Links: Recommendations & Next Actions
Over the past two years, the King County Executive and his departments have been partnering with impacted community members, systems partners, and community organizations to identify better, more effective alternatives to youth when they cause serious harm instead of secure youth detention.
In January 2024, the Executive published a report that outlines six recommendations and next actions to implement them, highlights the process of developing the recommendations, and the findings from the community engagement. Check out the two-page summary and the full report.
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Help Others Get Connected
Please share this monthly newsletter to anyone you think might be interested in learning about this effort! To stay up to date:
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