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SUMMARY
The King County Executive’s Office received a $450,000 award from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention under the “Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success” initiative. The funding will support Executive Constantine’s commitment to develop evidence-based community alternatives to secure youth detention.
STORY
The King County Executive’s Office received a $450,000 award from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) under the “Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success” initiative. The Continuum of Care framework supports a network of services and opportunities to foster positive youth development and prioritizes community safety and effective program outcomes.
King County will use the award to further its strategy and implementation planning for its Care & Closure initiative and fund local community organizations to lead the planning and development of community-based alternatives to secure youth detention, including the recommended network of community care homes across the County. These community care homes will be small, safe, and homelike spaces for youth to live and receive tailored support if they cannot safely return home while their court cases proceed.
The funding will also create additional opportunities for developing implementation and budget plans for programs and actions that center community members most impacted by the youth legal system and violence.
“We are committed to interrupting the cycles of violence that plague our communities and using proven solutions to get kids on track, rather than relying solely on old, costly, clearly ineffective tools,” said Executive Constantine. “This award underscores that it is possible to expand community-based alternatives that keep people safe, hold youth accountable for the harm they have caused, and help them to heal as they grow, creating better outcomes for our young people and safer communities for everyone.”
This new OJJDP investment leverages decades of evidence-based learning to prevent youth from entering or deepening their involvement in the juvenile justice system and steer them on a path to success. The continuum of care approach is community-driven, applies local insights, and addresses youth needs through mentoring, after-school programs, and other prosocial activities.
King County’s Executive Office anticipates releasing a request for proposals for community organizations to support this planning process in August 2024.
OJJDP is a program office of the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs and awarded over $17 million to 26 grantees for the Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success initiative.
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