DCYF lifts intake freeze at Green Hill School

DCYF lifts intake freeze at Green Hill School, resumes accepting inmates

The Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) announced that it will once again accept inmates starting Friday.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - The Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) announced that it will once again accept inmates starting Friday.

The department confirmed that intakes will resume at Green Hill School in Chehalis.

Last month, the state moved inmates due to overcrowding at Washington's juvenile detention facilities, saying the population crisis forced the emergency move.

Last month, a Thurston County judge upheld her decision to send 43 young adults back to the Green Hill juvenile facility, despite the state's objections.

The judge ruled that DCYF improperly transferred the residents to the Department of Corrections in violation of an agreement from a previous lawsuit.

Below is a statement the department released on Friday:

"We have reached an agreement with our county partners that will lift the intake freeze at our Juvenile Rehabilitation facilities. We resumed intakes to our Echo Glen facility a few weeks ago and will resume intakes to Green Hill School on Aug. 9."

"We appreciate the counties’ engagement on this difficult situation. Because the population at Green Hill remains significantly above capacity, our focus will continue to be the safety of staff and young people at our facility."

"We are working with legislators, counties and stakeholders on the three actions necessary for ensuring all the young people in JR can safely access the programming and services they need – opening new space, recruiting and retaining skilled workers, and receiving data from the counties so we can be more responsive to changes in the JR population."