Washington state and counties square off over juvenile rehabilitation closures

Thirteen Washington counties have sued the state Department of Children, Youth and Families for halting intakes to the state’s juvenile rehabilitation facilities.

The closure, made one month ago, has forced counties to house young people sentenced for serious crimes.

Loretta Battle’s son was sentenced in King County to a year in a state juvenile rehabilitation facility for second-degree robbery. He was supposed to go straight to Green Hill School, but after the state suspended juvenile intakes July 5, the 18-year-old started serving his sentence at King County’s adult jail.

“He’s getting bullied a lot,” Battle said. “He won't shower because he's worried about what's going to happen. So, having a hard time. He feels sad, very sad.”

Officials at the Department of Children, Youth and Families say they were forced to stop taking new youths after its Green Hill facility reached 130% of the safe capacity. The tight quarters and limited staffing led to fights and riots, and drug overdoses have been common.

But DCYF’s response to the problems has landed the agency in several courts.

One issue: DCYF’s transfer of 43 men in their early 20s from Green Hill to an adult prison. In a challenge by Columbia Legal Services on behalf of the young men, a Thurston County judge found that the move violated their right to due process and ordered DCYF to return them to Green Hill.

The latest legal challenge comes from a coalition of 13 counties that asked King County Superior Court for an injunction, forcing the agency to accept newly-sentenced youths.

“The courts have consistently been clear that the state cannot refuse to provide programming and services just because they lack resources,” said Michelle Luna, a deputy prosecutor in Pierce County, one of the litigants.

Luna said her county already has two young people awaiting transfer to state facilities and is worried that it will run out of room in juvenile pre-trial detention.

Young people sentenced to state facilities are entitled to the services that detention can’t provide, such as mental health care and drug and alcohol treatment, Luna said.

“​​It's our understanding that DCYF and Secretary Hunter has never communicated the need for additional resources, or reached out to partner with either the legislature or the counties to help address this problem prior to announcing it suddenly on July 5.”

Several state lawmakers have called for DCYF Secretary Ross Hunter to step down, citing significant mismanagement.

Some question why Hunter closed the state’s third large juvenile facility two years ago with no replacement in the works — despite a 2018 law extending juvenile rehabilitation from age 21 to age 25. Critics say that change all but guaranteed the state would need more juvenile beds.

DCYF declined KUOW’s interview requests, but spokesperson Nancy Gutierrez read from a statement:

“Secretary Hunter is fully committed to creating a viable path forward for ensuring safety and rehabilitation for all the young people sent to JR.”

Last week a King County Superior Court judge found DCYF in contempt for failing to transfer Loretta Battle’s son to juvenile rehab at Green Hill.

But as much as she hated having her 18-year-old in adult jail for a juvenile crime, Battle is worried about what he will face at Green Hill. She had hoped he’d get sent to Echo Glen Children’s Center, which has not had the same level of overcrowding.

“I would prefer him at Echo Glen. I mean, even though it's towards Spokane, but I’d still rather him there than Green Hill. That's where all the violence and everything is,” Battle said.

Green Hill School is getting even more crowded. Despite last-ditch efforts to appeal the court’s ruling, DCYF brought the 43 young men it had sent to state prison back to Green Hill on Friday.