King County juvenile detention center remains open after 8-0 county vote

The King County Council has voted to keep the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center, the county's juvenile detention center, open, despite strong public voices for and against.

The council ultimately voted 8-0 to keep the facility open, but only after more than 100 people spoke during public hearings that lasted more than two hours on Tuesday afternoon.

“Unfortunately, some children have to go to a youth detention center because nothing else works,” a mother of three children told the district council and spoke out in favor of maintaining the facility.

Further background information on the topic: King County's plan to close a youth prison met with fierce backlash

“Reparations begins with diverting public funds from systems rooted in oppression and into systems that ensure public health and safety and help people succeed,” countered another woman who said she lives within walking distance of the prison, arguing that the facility runs counter to the goal of reparations.

Juvenile delinquency is one of the county's most pressing problems. According to county data obtained by KUOW, 13-year-olds were taken into juvenile detention 66 times this year, compared to 30 times in 2023. About a quarter of the 112 youths in juvenile detention or under electronic home monitoring in King County on an average day in July 2024 were 14 years old or younger.

“This detention center is critical to public safety because it houses some of our most violent youth,” Anna Patrick said before the district vote. “Where is the accountability for the harm these individuals cause to the community?”

According to Reagan Dunn, vice chairman of the King County Council, juvenile crime reports have increased 57% compared to 2022 and 146% compared to 2021.

“Please keep the Clark Children and Family Justice Center open,” King County resident Kathleen Brose said in a public statement. “We need a secure facility to house violent juvenile offenders, especially repeat offenders.”

The facility's inmate population has returned to pre-pandemic levels, but staff numbers have not. Nearly a quarter of positions have been vacant since 2022, forcing guards and other security staff to resort to solitary confinement, among other measures, to monitor the county's growing number of incarcerated youth.

Prison officials at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center admitted to Publicola that they practice “solitary confinement” when there are not enough staff to safely monitor common areas. Solitary confinement has been officially banned at the federal level for minors since 2017. In juvenile centers, inmates can spend up to 18 to 20 hours a day in their cells simply because there are not enough staff.

An audit found that the average length of stay for youth has tripled since 2017, according to KING 5, even though the facility is not currently designed to accommodate it.

“It is unjust to keep the operations going at the Family Justice Center,” said Esmina James, who advocated for the closure of the facility, at a public hearing on Tuesday afternoon. “Locking children in cages is abuse.”

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King County Executive Dow Constantine is calling for the closure of the youth correctional center in Seattle's Central District by 2028. Since 2020, Constantine has called for the transfer of juvenile offenders to private facilities based on rehabilitation measures.

“We urge you to consider the scientific statistics and research that prove that incarcerating young people does not work,” said a youth advocate who wished to remain anonymous.

The motion to keep the youth centre open was passed unanimously, but with a number of changes, including examining alternatives to the detention of less serious offenders.

Contributors: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and email him here.