The King County City Council has voted to announce its intention to keep the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center, the county’s juvenile detention center, open, despite fierce public commentary both for and against keeping it open.
The council ultimately voted 8-0 to keep the facility open, but only after more than 100 people weighed in at a public meeting that lasted more than two hours Tuesday afternoon.
“Unfortunately, some children have to go to juvenile detention because other things don’t work,” a mother of three told the city council, expressing her support for keeping the facility open.
More background information on the issue: King County’s plan to close juvenile detention center draws fierce backlash
“Redemption begins with shifting government funding away from systems rooted in oppression and toward systems that maintain public health and safety and help people on a path to success,” countered another woman, who said she lives within walking distance of the prison and argued that the facility is antithetical to its mission of restorative justice.
Juvenile delinquency is one of the county’s most pressing concerns. According to county data obtained by KUOW, 13-year-olds were booked into juvenile detention 66 times this year, compared to 30 in 2023. About a quarter of the 112 youth in juvenile detention or under electronic home monitoring in King County on an average day in July 2024 were 14 or younger.
“This detention facility is critical to public safety because it houses some of our most violent youth,” Anna Patrick said before the county vote. “Where is the accountability for the harm these individuals cause to the community?”
According to Reagan Dunn, vice chair of the King County Council, reports of juvenile crime are up 57% from 2022 and 146% from 2021.
“Please keep the Clark Children and Family Justice Center open,” King County resident Kathleen Brose said during public comment. “We need a safe facility to hold violent juvenile offenders, especially repeat offenders.”
The facility’s population has returned to pre-pandemic levels, but its staffing levels have not. Nearly a quarter of its positions have been unfilled since 2022, leaving guards and other security personnel using solitary confinement, among other measures, to monitor the county’s growing population of incarcerated youth.
Prison officials with the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center admitted to Publicola that they use “room confinement” when there aren’t enough staff to safely patrol common areas. Solitary confinement as a practice has been officially banned by the federal government for minors since 2017. Those in the juvenile center could spend up to 18-20 hours a day in their cells, simply because of the limited staffing.
An audit has shown that the average length of stay of young people has tripled since 2017, according to KING 5. The facility is currently not equipped for this.
“Perpetuating what’s happening at the Family Justice Center is unjust,” Esmina James, who spoke in support of closing the facility, said during a public comment session Tuesday afternoon. “Putting children in cages is abuse.”
King County Governor Dow Constantine has called for the closure of the juvenile justice center in Seattle’s Central District by 2028. Since 2020, Constantine has advocated for the transfer of juvenile offenders to private institutions focused on restorative care.
“We urge you to take into account the scientific statistics and research that has been done which shows that locking up young people does not work,” said a youth activist who asked to remain anonymous.
The proposal to keep the youth centre open was unanimously accepted, but a number of changes were also made. For example, alternatives to the detention of less serious offenders were examined.
Contributors: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can send him an email here.
