Lawmakers Visit King County, Washington, Juvenile Justice System

Posted December 11, 2006

A group of 18 state legislators from 12 states took part in a "juvenile justice system model site visit" to King County, Washington, October 11-13. The visit was planned and carried out under a partnership project of NCSL's Criminal Justice Program in Denver, Colorado, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, of Chicago, Illinois.

Lawmakers had the opportunity to meet with elected, agency and judicial officials in King County, and learn about state and local collaborations there that have resulted in the reduction of detention populations and the numbers of kids returning to the juvenile justice system. These efforts have involved a "systems' integration" approach and a "reinvesting in youth" strategy that pairs state and local funds for evidence-based programs. Most recently, the State of Washington has been selected by the MacArthur Foundation as one of four Models for Change states, an effort that seeks to accelerate system-wide change in juvenile justice as models to other states.

The King County host team included Representative Mary Lou Dickerson, who represents the 36th Legislative District in Seattle, Washington; Judge Patricia Clark, Chief Juvenile Judge for the King County Superior Court and Bruce Knutson, Director of Juvenile Court Services for the King County Superior Court in Seattle.

Senator Jim Hargrove, of Hoquain, Washington in the 24th Legislative District, also contributed to discussions, including describing the "Becca Bill," of more than a decade ago, under which truants, runaways and other at-risk youths are detained and evaluated. Services are set up to address treatment needs and involvement of their parents. Senator Hargrove also discussed 2005 omnibus mental health legislation in the state (2005 SB 5763) that expanded mental health services in the state, including for people in juvenile and adult justice systems. The law authorized counties to levy a 0.1 percent sales tax dedicated to new and expanded therapeutic courts, and mental health and chemical dependency treatment services. To date, four counties have implemented the tax.

The mental health legislation and related "evidence based" treatment approaches in Washington state have been evaluated by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy in a recent report. The evaluation says that Washington State taxpayers receive a more than two-to-one return on each dollar invested in evidence-based treatment services for people with alcohol, drug, and mental health disorders.

Other topics discussed in the site visit and related resources:

The "Reinvesting in Youth," was described as the Seattle-based project that combines city, county and private investments in programs and services that address treatment needs of youths in the juvenile justice system and their families. Administered by the city Department of Human Services, the project now has support of the state of Washington with reimbursements to pilot counties for state savings generated by local investments in intervention services for juvenile justice system youths. For more information on RIY, email Jim Street, the executive director, at jim.street@seattle.gov.
Among objectives of Reinvesting in Youth is to work with other state and local efforts to address racial disparities in juvenile justice by building capacities of communities of color to address youth needs. Various issues and responses to racial issues in the justice system in the state are described in this Equal Justice newsletter of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission newsletter.
John Tuell of the Child Welfare League of America, spoke to the group about the Juvenile Justice System Integration Initiative supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The project provides consultation and other tools for improving cross-system collaboration in juvenile justice, including data and information sharing, case management, consolidation of resources, legal mandates and policies. The web link above provides publications and other resources.
Lyman Letgers, director of Seattle Operations for Casey Family Programs, also spoke about systems integration in King County. He said that collaboration has helped child-serving organizations and individuals be better stewards of the resources available. He said that collaboration in juvenile justice often is avoided because of concerns about information sharing. He asserted that barriers for information sharing are mostly myth and can be addressed. The Child Welfare League's work with King County on systems' integration has included a Resource Guide to Information Sharing and other resources.
The Reclaiming Futures project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is another important national effort that includes Seattle, Washington, among 10 sites throughout the United States in which collaborative efforts are addressing the cycle of teen substance abuse and crime. The initial five-year project developed and is now evaluating a "systems of care" model designed to give communities tools to intervene and treat youths with substance abuse problems involved in the justice system. For more information, contact the National Program Office for Reclaiming Futures, at Portland State University in Oregon.
The MacArthur Foundation assists in juvenile justice system reform efforts on many fronts. An important new effort, Models for Change, seeks to accelerate system-wide change in four states, Washington, Illinois, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. The hope is that the results will serve as models for successful reform in juvenile justice systems in other states.
The MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice is working to expand the base of knowledge about juvenile crime and delinquency, its origins and options. Recent ADJJ reports address many aspects of juvenile competency, crime prevention, system dispositional options and other research findings. The reports can contribute to a common understanding among the many players in collaborative juvenile justice.

For more information on the King County, Washington, juvenile justice site visit, or other products or services of the NCSL juvenile justice project with the MacArthur Foundation, contact Sarah Hammond.