WA DCYF under fire from state officials

WA DCYF under fire over juvenile justice crisis

The head of Washingtons juvenile detention agency is facing growing calls to resign, including from state legislators, union staff, advisory boards and now, the families of residents inside the facility.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - The head of Washington's Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) is facing growing calls to resign, including from state legislators, union staff, the governor’s own advisory board on juvenile justice and now family and friends of residents inside the Green Hill juvenile detention facility.

Numerous parents and loved ones showed up to the DCYF Oversight Board meeting to share their concerns and outrage during the public comment portion.

One parent expressed concerns about her son not receiving enough food, another cited violent behavior from staff that ended with young men being refused medical treatment. Each person demanded DCYF Secretary Ross Hunter be removed from his position.

During the meeting, Hunter spoke briefly but did not respond to any of the concerns of those who signed up to make public comment.

A spokesperson for Gov. Inslee told FOX 13 Seattle, "We are intensely focused on increasing capacity as rapidly as possible for safety and security. A change in leadership in the middle of that intense effort would only impede progress. We need to accelerate this, not slow it down, and that is what the governor expects from Secretary Hunter. Proposals for additional capacity will be forthcoming in the near future."

DCYF’s crisis became visible in early July when the agency announced its juvenile detention facilities were too full, and that counties would have to begin housing juveniles convicted of crimes while DCYF sought relief.

Then, it made moves that landed the agency in court. A judge ruled that DCYF had maneuvered the crisis in a way that upended it’s own legal settlements in the past.

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 the condition of anonymity. Each of them paints a picture of a workplace that endangers both employees’ and residents’ lives.

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

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 Gov. 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.