2 WA juvenile rehabilitation facilities suspend intakes

2 WA juvenile rehab facilities suspend intakes

Two Washington juvenile rehabilitation facilities are suspending intakes of new offenders due to overcrowding, according to the DCYF.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Two Washington juvenile rehabilitation facilities are suspending intakes of new offenders due to overcrowding, according to the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).

The Echo Glen Children’s Center in Snoqualmie and Green Hill School in Chehalis won't be taking any more juveniles until they return to "safe and sustainable capacity levels," which could take months.

DCYF says Echo Glen and Green Hill are seeing a rising population that is compromising the safety of both staff and young people at the facilities.

"When too many young people are concentrated in small spaces it can escalate behaviors and limit the ability for therapeutic rehabilitation," said DCYF Secretary Ross Hunter. "This was not sustainable. Our facilities must be safe, therapeutic, and functional."

This does not mean juvenile offenders will be released, but they will instead remain in a county facility until it is safe for them to be transferred to a juvenile rehab facility.

DCYF claims that over the last year, Green Hill experienced an influx of young people entering the facility that outnumbered releases each week. The population at Green Hill went from 150 in January 2023 to 240 in June 2024, which is 30% above capacity.

The agency also says longer sentences are causing the rise in population.

To deal with the overcrowding, DCYF contracted additional security staff at both facilities. DCYF is also looking into other options to address the safety concerns, however they do not result in immediate capacity reduction.

DCYF says it will maintain a waitlist during this suspension to prioritize and manage intakes once the suspension is lifted.

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs released a statement on Saturday, urging the State to promptly resolve this issue. The statement from WASPC's executive director Steven D. Strachan reads:

"Law enforcement agencies around the state have been notified by the Washington State Dept of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) that due to capacity issues they will indefinitely suspend acceptance and placement of sentenced juvenile offenders, regardless of the violence or severity of their crime.

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WSAPC) is cooperating with a DCYF request to inform law enforcement agencies across Washington of the intake suspension. At the same time, WASPC calls on the State to promptly resolve this issue through any necessary executive or legislative action. It is wholly unacceptable to simply stop accepting juveniles who have been sentenced, through due process, for often very violent crimes. Victims of crime need to know that offenders will remain in custody.

This situation is largely of the State’s own making. The state’s overcrowding problem in Juvenile Rehabilitation Centers has been known for some time, and not taking responsibility for the housing of offenders places the public at further risk. One common sense emergency option that should be considered is the transfer of non–juvenile inmates (18–25-year-olds) at Green Hill School to the custody of the Department of Corrections for incarceration in adult facilities."