Exclusive: DCYF boss responds to calls for his resignation

WA DCYF head responds to calls to step down after Green Hill School failures

DCYF is facing an undeniable truth: the state agency tasked with running Washington’s juvenile detention facilities has unwittingly engineered its own downfall.

CHEHALIS, Wash. - The Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) is facing an undeniable truth: the state agency tasked with running Washington’s juvenile detention facilities has unwittingly engineered its own downfall.

The crisis became visible on July 5 when DCYF announced that its facilities were so full that court systems could no longer send convicted criminals to their facilities.

DCYF painted a picture of a sudden explosion in the population at its Green Hill School located in Lewis County. However, data obtained by FOX 13’s Investigative Team indicates that they surpassed what the agency deems a "safe operational capacity" in June 2023.

Over the past year, the unrest within the walls of Green Hill School has been obvious. Ten current staff members, and a handful of employees that recently separated from DCYF, have spoken to FOX 13 on a condition of anonymity. Each of them paint a picture of a workplace that endangers employees’ lives.

Videos obtained by FOX 13 Seattle show inmates beaten, staffers attacked and riots taking place.

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A February fight leaves one resident on the floor as a lone staff member intervenes in an attempt to prevent him from being kicked in the head

In one instance, multiple inmates are beaten repeatedly, seen falling to the ground where repeated punches and kicks rained down on them. A single female employee was on the wing as nearly a dozen inmates attacked one-another. Her only course of action was to make radio calls to get additional staff to convene.

Despite the growing unrest, DCYF didn’t warn the court system or county prosecutors that they were running out of room for its residents as the population slowly climbed to levels previously unseen at Green Hill School.

Once the problem grew too large to ignore, the agency scrambled to find fixes. Those "fixes" found them facing multiple lawsuits. The legal challenges forced them to re-open their doors to new intakes despite the fact that they hadn’t solved the core issue: there isn’t enough space inside their current facility.

Painted into a legal corner of their own making, DCYF is now scrambling to find solutions as legislators call on the head of DCYF, Secretary Ross Hunter, to step down.

Meanwhile, a state advisory board created by Governor Jay Inslee is calling on Inslee to fire Hunter and set the agency on a better course as his final months in office wind down.

In a sit-down interview with FOX 13, Secretary Hunter shifted blame to other entities for failing to accurately predict the number of juvenile inmates that would ultimately be sent to DCYF. He did admit, however, that he failed to warn counties of moves that he planned to make.

"Mea culpa for not doing more notification to counties that, that’s something in hindsight, I wish I’d done more of," said Hunter.

When questioned whether he had the support of Governor Inslee, who appointed Hunter to his DCYF post, he responded: "I came to work yesterday, focused on safety. I came to work for today, focused on safety. I intend to come to work tomorrow, focused on safety."

Progressive legislation, poor planning

Passed in 2018, Washington House Bill 6160 (known as JR to 25) was celebrated by Governor Inslee as a significant step to reform criminal justice.

The bill allows minors convicted in adult court to stay in the state juvenile corrections system until they turn 25-years-old. Prior to JR to 25, a juvenile would be transferred to an adult prison – research had shown that youth transferred to adult prisons before their brains had fully developed were more likely to re-offend.

While the passage of JR to 25 indicated that people would be inside DCYF facilities longer, the agency decreased it’s juvenile justice facility footprint.

DCYF currently operates two large maximum security facilities, and eight smaller community facilities for lower-risk residents.

Naselle Youth Camp, a large medium security facility, was closed in late 2022. DCYF cited issues with residents’ families being unable to travel to the facility, and difficulty staffing the remote facility located in Pacific County.

The closure of Naselle left two large facilities to house the most at-risk youth in all of Washington state. Echo Glenn houses DCYF’s female inmates, and it’s younger male juveniles. Green Hill, houses the older teens and young men.

Green Hill School should not exceed 150 residents according to the American Correctional Association (ACA) recommendations on juvenile facilities. DCYF has cited that number in court cases, while also stating their aim is to keep the population at 180 or lower.

Green Hill surpassed 180 residents in June, 2023 and has continued to slowly climb for the next year – DCYF did not alert counties, or court systems.

In multiple interviews with FOX 13, a spokesperson noted that it was common to see 6-8 inmates enter Green Hill in a week, while 3-4 would leave.

"I can draw a line and say at 179 it's safe, at 181 it's not – it's not quite like that," said Hunter.

"It gets worse and what we found is when you got to 240 – I don't, I can't draw you a curve. I'm a math guy, I want to draw you a curve, but the curve is not linear."

However, DCYF had determined that 180 inmates was its safe number. While Hunter admitted he failed to warn counties that their population was growing too high to accept new inmates, he defended his actions and explained that there was no reason to assume numbers would continue to climb.

DCYF has argued that they hovered at 150 to 160 inmates in their facility for years. Many of those years, pre-date JR to 25 or include the pandemic when backlogs grew, and the court system slowed to a crawl. Hunter told FOX 13 that there was no way to know that their facilities would see a surge of inmates.

"We thought we had actions in place that would keep us right around 180," argued Hunter. "We've asked for more minimum security capacity located in the community where people are going to go back so that they can build those relationships."

Caught on camera: Green Hill School riot, and attacks on staff

Green Hill employees tell FOX 13 that their low staffing numbers have put them in a dangerous position.

"There's a level of tension that's palpable when you walk in," said a former employee, who spoke with FOX 13 on a condition of anonymity.

"You know that something is going to happen today, and it's legitimate, and the staff are scared. My biggest fear is somebody will get killed."

The former employee echoed the statements that so many current, and former, staffers told FOX 13. Those employees explained that when complaints were made to leadership at the facility in Chehalis, the leadership would respond that it's the job they signed up for.

In court affidavits obtained by FOX 13 after recent lawsuits, DCYF leadership have admitted that a single staff member can be left alone with 16 residents. They continue, saying this is a dangerous situation that can not only be terrifying for staff, but can drive employees away and make it harder to recruit new staff.

It’s a cycle that, paired with the sheer number of employees often on injury leave after attacks, can exhaust employees.

FOX 13 has learned that in recent weeks Governor Inslee directed the Department of Corrections to send 10 employees to Green Hill to add to its total number of staff. The agency has also sent administrative staff into the facility, and hired security guards. Employees contend that those individuals often count towards the resident-to-staff ratio, but it doesn’t mean those people are inside the buildings that need attention.

Female staff in particular feel unsafe and outnumbered. However, male employees tell FOX 13 they don’t feel much better. It appears that women, in particular, are more likely to be the target of attacks and ongoing harassment.

The complaints to FOX 13 by employees wouldn't be new information to DCYF. The state agency participates in a Performance-based Standards (PbS) program to monitor conditions within its facilities.

PbS measures found that the following month, 38% of Green Hill staff feared for their safety. That number ballooned to 62% in April 2024. The national average PbS score is 22% in similar facilities.

Staff described a culture where they were not only discouraged from speaking up, but felt discouraged from pressing charges on inmates after attacks.

DCYF has denied a culture of cover-ups, stating it wants to foster an open line of communication. The agency has also taken steps to block the public from seeing the realities of what unfolds inside the facility.

As far back as March, DCYF sent the FOX 13 Investigative Team a letter from its legal team calling on the station to withdraw record requests that would ultimately reveal the chaotic nature of what was unfolding.

Green Hill Riot

In newly obtained security footage, a lone Green Hill juvenile detention facility employee is in a wing with eight inmates when a riot breaks out. It's one of several videos obtained by the FOX 13 Investigative team that uncovers the true nature of what's been unfolding inside of DCYF's facility for it's oldest juvenile inmates.

One example of the issues of Green Hill is a prison riot that unfolded on January 4, 2024 around 6:15 p.m. when a single employee was working in what’s known as the C wing of Willow with eight residents.

Two inmates approached a round cafeteria-style table where a third inmate was eating a sandwich when the pair suddenly cold-cocked the eating inmate in the face from behind, one after the other.

Within five seconds, a fourth inmate had gotten into a fighting stance as four other inmates converged on him. This kicked off two simultaneous fights as the employee backed away and began making radio calls.

The lone employee in the wing began to use a radio to call for additional staff to enter, while an underage inmate began using a clipboard to bash the head of an inmate that had been dragged to the ground.

Two inmates were punched and kicked in their heads repeatedly. When the underage inmate’s clipboard broke, he resorted to throwing cartons of milk from a lunch cart at the victims of the attack.

Eventually, a total of 20 staff members arrived in the wing. One described the scene, saying, "the floor was covered in spilled milk, garbage and blood."

As things wrapped up, one of the inmates involved in the initial fight became irate, yelling that he was going to kill the other inmate.

Once the fight was over, employees would later recount that initial calls for help did not appear to receive any response.

The union that represents the staff at Green Hill, The Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE), tell FOX 13 that the issues are not new. WFSE has attempted to address a number of safety issues informally, when that failed a group grievance was filed for violations of their collective bargaining agreement following a particularly gruesome incident.

"WFSE has also filed a demand to bargain with DCYF for failing to notify them and bargain over the impacts of the agency's decision to halt intakes at Green Hill School and Echo Glen Children' Center to ‘stabilize a rising population,’ which is required by law," a spokesperson said.

DCYF paints itself in a corner, calls grow for Governor Inslee to react

The calls for Secretary Ross Hunter to stepdown, or for Governor Inslee to fire him, have grown in the past week.

It’s not the first controversy to face Hunter while at the helm of DCYF. In 2023, over 1,000 members of the Washington Federation of State Employees voted "no confidence" in the leadership of Secretary Hunter.

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State employees initiate vote of no confidence in DCYF leader Ross Hunter

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State employees initiate vote of no confidence in DCYF leader Ross Hunter

State employees have initiated a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF).

The vote followed a large escape at the Echo Glenn Juvenile Detention Center. Hunter would also come under fire following the high-profile case of Oakley Carlson, a 2-year-old who vanished after DCYF returned her to her biological mother after spending most of her life in foster care.

The recent controversy, however, stems from DCYF’s sudden suspension of intakes at Echo Glen and Green Hill. It was a move that led to sharp criticism from the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, the Washington State Superior Court Judges Association and others.

A lawsuit was filed on behalf of 13 counties, over DCYF's failures to perform its duties within the juvenile justice system. A legal settlement forced the facility to re-open its doors, despite the population remaining far above what it considers safe.

To make matters worse, DCYF had transferred 43 of it’s older inmates to adult prisons within the Department of Corrections system ahead of schedule. That moved led to additional lawsuits, and a court injunction forcing DCYF to allow those young men to return to Green Hill School pushing the population back above 220.

The new settlements and agreements painted DCYF into a corner. It is now required to accept inmates at a facility that is over-capacity, despite not having any operational facilities that can open to relieve the stress. On top of that, it’s currently relying on administrative staff and D.O.C employees to backfill positions.

Workers tell FOX 13 that Green Hill is routinely national PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) standards.

Since then, legislators have openly called for Secretary Hunter to resign. Representatives Mari Leavitt (D-University Place), and Travis Couture (R-Bremerton) are among them.

Rep. Couture told FOX 13 that the latest issues are simply the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

"He’s waited until problems get to these crisis levels before he decides to act, and then he does so very sloppily," said Rep. Couture.

While legislators call on Secretary Hunter to resign, a state advisory board created by Governor Jay Inslee have called on him to fire Hunter.

In a letter written to Governor Inslee, the co-chairs of the Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice listed a number of issues deemed "failures" under Secretary Hunter’s watch, including: a failure to address understaffing, overcrowding and the delay of implementing programs that could have alleviated the surge in population.

"It is our responsibility to recognize the failure of DCYF leadership and recommend that Secretary Ross Hunter be removed from his role as the agency head," the letter reads.

"We urgently request a meeting with you to discuss this matter and the Partnership Council’s position."

Asked by FOX 13 whether Governor Inslee had plans to act, a letter written by his Chief of Staff was sent back. That letter didn't address the calls for Hunter's removal. Instead, it focused on what could be done moving forward and offered to arrange meetings with other agencies about arrest rates and trends of prosecution.

That letter was sent more than two weeks after the call for Hunter to be fired was made.

It's not the first time Governor Inslee has avoided answering questions about Hunter. In fact, he's avoided making comments about his political appointee for several months.

After previous interview requests were denied in early 2024, FOX 13 tracked Governor Inslee down at a public event in April to ask why he had faith in Secretary Hunter. At the time, the FOX 13 Investigative Team had reported on a number of issues involving overdoses and employee misconduct inside of Green Hill School.

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Employees hired by the state to work with juvenile inmates behind bars are now finding themselves on the other side of the law.

Governor Inslee never addressed Hunter, instead responding with, "We do have challenges throughout the juvenile justice system. The reason is we’ve put 23, 24, 25-year-olds in the same place as young kids – we’ve never done this before, this is creating new challenges in security."

DCYF impact on juveniles

In June, Caya Lenay was being celebrated for his work while incarcerated at Green Hill School.

He was selected to speak at a college graduation. There, Lenay set an example of what JR to 25 was meant to achieve.

Lenay, 22, was charged as an adult with second-degree murder following a home invasion that ended with an Everett woman shot and killed.

A total of five teens were charged with the crime. While Lenay was not the gunman, he was among the four people charged as adults. With the passage of JR to 25, he is the type of incarcerated youth that has the opportunity to stay inside a juvenile facility longer where additional rehabilitation services and education opportunities would be available.

When DCYF announced it had reached a crisis level in terms of population, he was among the 43 inmates selected to be moved to adult prison ahead of schedule.

"Why should this fall on our shoulders?" Lenay asked over a phone call with FOX 13 News. "They neglected to find a solution to the overcrowding and those situations they agreed to. So, I don’t think that should fall on our shoulders."

A point of contention for Governor Inslee’s advisory board on juvenile justice is that recent moves by DCYF have endangered the legacy of JR to 25.

The group called it, "one of the most progressive pieces of legislation that has crossed [Inslee’s] desk."

A judge ultimately signed off on an injunction that would send Lenay, and more than 30 of the inmates back to Green Hill School. The judge deemed that DCYF failed to process the moves properly.

DCYF had previously been sued for a pattern of transfers ahead of inmates' 25th birthdays, which led to a legal agreement that requires a review board a notice of transfer and contact with a lawyer. Lenay, and the 42 other inmates, didn't go through any of those steps.

Have a news tip for the FOX 13 Investigative Team? Contact us via email at FOX13investigates@fox.com.