One had arrived in the facility earlier that day; another had spent nearly 640 days in detention for a first-degree rape charge. If implemented as designed, those running the RCP show could potentially include kids whove committed brutal attacks, harassed others, broke into homes, or even brought guns to school and threatened to kill other students. So what happens when the juvenile, having completed the program from his bedroom computer, promptly goes back to school and this time actually shoots one or more people? At the same time, Change Washington believes other reforms should include the following: Theres been enough wasted spending and no accountability when it comes to addressing the homelessness crisis in King County. It would launch by 2022 and would be the countys first diversion program, in this form, for felony offenders, said Anita Khandelwal, director of the King County Public Defenders office. This is a community-led initiative, supported by the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) that builds on King Countys current plans and investments to realize the vision of a community where every person can thrive, said Sheila Ater Capestany, Children Youth and Young Adults Division Director in DCHS. Diversion meetings happen in the community closest to where ayouth lives, with either a staff member or volunteers. These can include receiving services, doingcommunity service, or paying a victim to compensate for their financial loss. The new center was built next to the decaying, 69-year-old Youth Services Center. Ferrell has described the program as easily fixable, stating that accountable and judicial oversight needs to incorporated. Instead of jails, we will have homes, schools, jobs, and a community that stands with our youth. We separate the two to a fault, he said. Instead of suspensions and expulsions, we strive for restorative and culturally-relevant programming. Hung believes that the Countys decision to hold those young people in jail instead of referring them to service providers means that all other aspects of our society have failed, and that the failure is presenting itself when the best option is locking the kid up in detention. Bringing an end to that practice, Hung said, will require the County to keep scaling up the services it can provide to young people in crisis. Now, we look at how it's actually run - and our recommendations on how to change it. Izzy Eads. He said the cuts equate to about 30 patrol deputies or an approximate 22% reduction in 911 service to unincorporated areas of King County.. Seattle, WA 98104. Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus said she supports restorative justice and rehabilitation in her community, but expressed concerns that the RCP program would allow certain crimes such as specific assault charges and illegal possession of a firearm. Sentencing in suitcase murders | Podcast, King County Councilmember proposes regional ban on public drug use, King County Crisis Care Levy passing in first election results, Washingtons COVID-19 exposure notification app to end May 11, Firearms scheme leads to federal charges | King County Crime Dive. Jeremy Crowe, RestorativePrograms Supervisor, 206-477-6528,jeremy.crowe@kingcounty.gov. Dunn said his concerns with the program are with some felonies that the program included such as certain assault charges, which he said he believes youth should have to see a judge in order to be held accountable. Our programs focus on personal healing, identity development, and leadership building. The FIRS Center is a safe, positive, andsupportive space. The goal of Step-Up is for youth to stop violence and abuse toward their family and develop. To be fair, the point isnt entirely false. The great thing about Restorative Community Pathways is that the folks in the community who run this program treat the person who has been harmed and the person who has caused harm as equals and they provide support for both of them, Hung said. In time, he decided he needed to do no more harm to the community and he was going to be a positive contributor. And the variety of diversionary services available to young people is slowly growing. So last November, King County launched a new diversion process for youth called Restorative Community Pathways. Seattle, WA. We have civic leadership opportunities, mentoring, and change-making resources available so you can feel confident and be an effective ally for those who have been silenced by the criminal legal sector. It could be a service center for homeless youth and their families, or a place where young people could have access to detox services. Full Bio. It has metastasized into a civic systems problem and a taxpayers nightmare. A $6.2 million program called Restorative Community Pathways would refer up to 800 young people, by 2023, to community-based services, rather than filing criminal charges against them. The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times. The goal of Step-Up is for youth to stop violence and abuse toward their family and developrespectful family relationships so that all family members feel safe at home. FAX: 206-296-0194, Dan Satterberg, King County Prosecuting Attorney, Sheila Ater Capestany, Children Youth and Young Adults Division Director, Department of Community and Human Services, Sean Goode, Executive Director, Choose 180 Program, Find certified small business contractors and suppliers, data from the State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. " [Restorative Community Pathways] was launched, again, without any notice to the cities in King County, but it also included being eligible offenses of bringing a gun to school, unlawful. We should be allowed the same grace that the criminal legal system has been shown.. The requirements of the agreement are defined by law and guided by principlesof Restorative Justice using a Positive Youth Development Model. Program providers report 86 percent of youth participants are meeting their program goals and 94 percent are increasing connection with adults, family, and the community. Follow us and connect below: 1429 AVENUE D #262, SNOHOMISH, WA, 98290-1742. Thats not just his opinion either. Some money would also be shifted toward youth marijuana-prevention programs. Within the first year, RCP aims to divert 400 low-level, first-time juvenile cases to an existing network of restorative justice organizations that provide immediate responses and support for youth and harmed parties. (This article was originally published on PubliCola and has been reprinted under an agreement.). The county will also begin to look for new alternatives to traditional fare enforcement on Metro buses. The goals of FIRSinclude:decreasing violence in the home,preventing further police contact, and increasing family safety and well-being. The program diverts kids who have committed a crime away from the prison system and instead focuses on rehabilitation through community-based organizations that specialize in restorative justice. Featured Image: A No New Youth Jail advocate protests outside the Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center. This includes increased gun violence in domestic violence situations, around homelessness, and interestingly enough, road rage. Our coalition has found that the roots of the problem start local. Our highly-trained and experienced staff and volunteers at Empowered Pathways offer a variety of mediation services to address issues related to youth, as well as restorative services using the highly successful Circles environment approach to opening and continuing effective communication paths. King County has historically proven that diversion works to reduce juvenile crime, and thats exactly what RCP aims to do, said Dan Satterberg, King County Prosecuting Attorney. They were consulted on both fronts prior to todays announcement. Instead of facing traditional prosecution, these individuals who are facing their first charge and are disproportionately young men of color will be offered a community-based alternative that emphasizes restorative justice and restoration for harmed parties, Constantines office wrote. We want to break institutional racist systems. Thediversion process is usually quicker and less stressful than the court process. The very first example cited of a rehabilitation even for serious offenses is a boy bringing a gun to school and threatening to shoot someone during a confrontation. Jun 2022 - Present11 months. 1,706 Followers, 64 Following, 49 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Restorative Community Pathways (@restorative_community_pathways) Lily Anderson, Senior Social Worker, or theStep-UpTeam (206)-477-2071,lily.anderson@kingcounty.gov. In a recent news story by KUOW (NPR-Seattle), King County prosecutor candidate and Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell called attention to the types of crimes that would fall under the RCP. Advocacy Program Coordinator. There must be a case number to track these offenses and the serious felony crimes should be removed from eligibility. Like with the homeless, outreach to juvenile offenders need to be able to identify one from the other so that efforts arent wasted on the wrong people. And thats where I think the community comes in and they do a much much better job than we could ever do.. What does dysfunction in these systems cost our livelihoods, health, family wellbeing, and taxes? We cover Seattle and King County on a budget that is funded entirely by reader contributionsno ads, no paywalls, ever. He said RCP provides better accountability for the offender and more support for the victims of crimes compared to the traditional court system. FIRS and Step Up focus on families experiencing family violence. More savings will come from continuing to limit the countys jail population, Constantine said. Restorative Community Pathways Community Navigator. Dunn and the South King County mayors who called for the programs pause said that certain violent crimes, especially ones involving guns, shouldnt be eligible for diversion through RCP and said that violent crime is rising. A big point of contention surrounding the program was gun violence and other violent crime. Jeremy Crowe, RestorativePrograms Supervisor, 206-477-6528, Find certified small business contractors and suppliers, For Families Experiencing Violence in the Home. Join to view profile. The goal of work like ours is to bring safety to our community by helping people heal; both those who have been accused of causing harm and those who have been harmed. Their program has the juvenile participate in one-on-one workshops that, according to the organizations website, has shifted toward a virtual model.. The only thing Hung as a prosecutor can promise the victim is that he will listen to them, and even in cases in which restitution to the victim is ordered, it is rarely ever paid out. All crimes that hurt the safety of our communities such as shoplifting rings, home burglaries, and car thefts need to be taken seriously so that folks are not re-victimized and the security of our neighborhoods is preserved, Dunn said. The greater challenge, he said, is reducing the need for those services and deciding whether an end to youth detention is actually the end of detention in its current form. "This restorative community pathway builds up the young person, sees them as a possibility to be developed and not a problem to be solved, while simultaneously making sure that the harmed party . You can choose your level of involvement.It will take many hands working together at different levels to bridge the gaps while rebuilding healthy communities. We are looking at every option to scrape together the money we need to deal with the economic climate were in, as well as the urgent need to press ahead right now, while we have the chance on racial justice.. County audits have found that fare enforcement disproportionately targets the homeless and people of color. It could become a facility that serves an older population of young adults, said Nance. Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. To demonstrate this philosophy, he used an example of a situation in which two school students see each other outside of school and one decides he is going to bully the other and take his backpack. Instead of court, some people who've committed a crime could. Rivera said that the South King County mayors who objected to RCP do not understand the methodology of restorative justice or its effectiveness. "Restorative Community Pathways (RCP) is an evidence-based strategy for holding young people who commit a first-time offense accountable, reducing youth incarceration, and racial disproportionality in the juvenile justice system," the statement continued. They will be responsible for the direction of RCP, hold a central role in supporting community evaluations of RCP, and support in the distribution of funds. RCP is an important step on King Countys journey to zero youth detention, as the County divests from the juvenile legal system responses to youth in crisis and invests in a community-based diversion response, and the early results are promising. She argued that restorative justice programs such as RCP make a root-cause analysis into crime and help to make progress to prevent crime and strengthen community through the process. But despite the new alternatives, the number of young people spending the night in cells in the mural-bedecked facility on Alder Street has effectively plateaued. In January 2022, King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn proposed a pause to the countys Restorative Community Pathways program. Young Men of Color ages 16 to 25 are the primary drivers of long-term sentences in Washington State, said Martina Kartman, the founder of Collective Justice, a victim-focused restorative justice program. Collective Justice, Creative Justice, Community Passageways, and CHOOSE 180 have worked together with the Department of Public Defense to co-create an alternative to the juvenile court system that has been written into the King County Executive's biannual budget and is set to begin . Show them new paths. Data collected between November 1 of last year and August 18, 2022, shows that of the 145 youth participating in RCP in lieu of prosecution, only 12, or just over eight percent, have had new case referrals. Earlier this week we introduced you to the King Countys Restorative Community Pathways (RCP) program and how it evades the judiciary section of the criminal justice system. Paul reports on police accountability for PubliCola. She argued that RCP was designed to better address and rehabilitate these behaviors and do so better than the court system, criminal records and incarceration have ever done. Bellingham, WA 98226, RCC is a 501c3 non-profit organization | Copyright 2023 The Restorative Community Coalition, Whatcom County Jail Trauma Chart the RADD-RAT Symptoms, Stop Punishing Taxpayers Start Rebuilding Community, Whatcom County Jail Trauma Chart the RADD-RAT Symptoms. Reintegrate: Ensure a smooth, successful integration into the community. Be the first to get new stories sent straight into your inbox. Dominique often says it will take the community to heal the community--we are the ones we have been waiting for. Now, we look at how its actually run and our recommendations on how to change it. They will also develop accountable relationships with community organizations to ensure that the work of RCP continues to be rooted in youth liberation and healing, not punishment. DominiqueDavisis the founder and CEO of Community Passageways. This is a community-led initiative, supported by the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) that builds on King Countys current plans and investments to realize the vision of a community where every person can thrive. While only 10% of King Countys 2 million residents are black, they now make up almost half of the detention population on any given day, and more than half of felony offenses. Youth who successfully complete a diversion have the addedbenefit of handling a criminal incident without having a criminal conviction. Dolphy Jordan, a Seattle-based member of the Incarcerated Childrens Advocacy Network, spent 21 years in Washington prisons for a murder he committed when he was 16. Dominique believes those closest to the problem can solve the problem! Since 2021, Collective Justice has been receiving cases pre-charge . If a youth does not complete a Diversion Agreement or does not respond to requests to meet to establish a Diversion Agreement,Juvenile Court sends the case back to the prosecutor, at which time the prosecutor might decide to file criminal charges. Please reach out for more information on our volunteer needs. PO Box 31026, Bellingham, WA 98228 Our community-centered and evidence-based model provides an alternative to the current criminal legal system. But, Hung said, reasonably this kind of situation would make more sense to be dealt with between the families in a community-based approach, rather than to drag that student into the juvenile justice system. Constantine is proposing cutting $4.6 million in funding that the Sheriffs Office gets from tax on retail marijuana sales. Actor and comedian Tim Allen is an example of that after being given a reduced sentence for drug charges when he was a young adult. Its just sending the wrong message basically saying that one kid is better than the other, when theyre both redeemable.. Schulman said she wondered why Dunn would take such a large step backward from progressive and holistic solutions to justice reform that works to break down the school-to-prison pipeline. Thats why our Coalition did a deep dive into the school-to-prison pipeline. Moreover, what is left out is whether keeping a juvenile in jail or giving them social services is in the best interest of public safety. Play Beyond this, the community-based organizations can help victims of crimes in areas that have nothing to do with the crime itself such as housing or food insecurity. We look at the complexity, notice the tough spots, the complications and identify your optimal frugal need, so you and your family can get a leg up in the process. She believes diverting these kinds of juvenile offenders from courts could allow them to escape accountability. Who is responsible? We employ men and women from the community who share similar racial, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds with our young people who have lived experience navigating the full spectrum of the school-to-prison pipeline to act as credible messengers and Ambassadors. But the windowless cells and steel doors are a reminder that the purpose of the new building is unchanged. Some might argue that citing potential school shooters is fear-mongering because such instances are rare. Though some amount of recidivism is unavoidable, the outcomes of the countys diversionary programs have shown some promising improvements. Last July, Constantine made a commitment to guide the County toward an end to youth detention by 2025, promising to transition the new detention center to other uses and [shift] public dollars away from systems that are rooted in oppression and into those that maintain public health and safety, and help people on a path to success.. By 2020, Choose 180s annual report noted that 96% of the young people it served did not reoffend within a year. , Making Diversion Programs More Culturally Responsive. Dunn also proposed the motion on behalf of the mayors of Auburn, Federal Way, Kent and Renton cities that have experienced a major uptick in crime and with mayors who have previously opposed the Restorative Community Pathways program. Director of Programs. Restorative Community Pathways has funds to offer the victims of crimes immediate restitution without going through a lengthy court process, Hung said. This includes participating in the hiring of community navigators by RCP consortium members. Youthhave the opportunity tosign out-of-court agreements in lieu of criminal charging and formal court. It is at the early education, intervention, 911 call, the hospital and at the jail doors. Diverting a potential school shooter to a social program, when there have been repeated instances of actual shootings preceded by telltale warning signs, is beyond irresponsible. They feel like they have to act differently. KC Councilmember Reagan Dunn wanted to pause the program after local mayors expressed concern. The result? Resolving a case using the diversion process can helpyouth and their family access helpful services in our community. Step-Up accepts referrals from court staff, community providers and families and facilitates both individual and groupinterventions at the Patricia Clark Child and Family Justice Center and in the community. So who am I to say I have some monopoly on knowing what keeps communities safe, right?. But lets not pretend theyre only targeting petty, seemingly harmless crimes. 5) Ally with us as a non-profit, share your point of views, your challenges and wisdom, so we can team up to bridge gaps and resolve conflicts. SEATTLE The King County Council on Tuesday voted Tuesday to approve funding for a groundbreaking criminal justice diversion program that will let community groups decide what punishment -- if. Of the 28 young people incarcerated in King County on March 4, nearly half were charged as adults for first-degree assault, attempted murder, or murder charges; they will move to adult detention centers after their 18th birthdays. In study after study, children prosecuted in juvenile court achieve less success and do more harm than comparable youth who have been diverted out of the formal court system.. Kristin Elia, Executive Office, 206-477-8209, Main phone: 206-263-9600 It will also depend on how the entities guiding the process both in county government and in the nonprofit sector define the end of youth detention.. The proposals, part of the biennial budget that Constantine will present next week, have been spurred by the months of protests against police brutality and systemic racism that have dominated the nation and the region this summer. RCP will continue to be evaluated to determine its effectiveness in outcomes for both the youth referred to the Prosecuting Attorneys Office and the harmed party with the goal of improving public safety in King County. The number of jailed adults in the county dropped from about 1,900 before the coronavirus pandemic to about 1,300 now, according to the county. Play Play Play Play , The FIRS Center is a unique respite facility within the Patricia Clark Children and Family Justice Center offering analternative to secure detention for youth referred for family violence. The priorities presented today will begin to address some of the injustices the Black community and other communities of color have experienced for decades in King County, Brown said. FIRS serves families at the Patricia Clark Child and Family Justice Center and in the community after an arrest orreferral from law enforcement following an incident of family violence. He said the referrals from police departments recommending prosecution of a juvenile has drastically decreased from the tens of thousands of referrals he would receive annually in the mid-1990s, to now just over 1,000 in 2021. Instead of police, prosecutors, and judges, we operate with mentors, counselors, and circle keepers. Jeremy Crowe, Restorative Programs Supervisor, (206) 477-6528, Step-Up is an internationally recognized adolescent family violence intervention program designed to address youth, violence (including threats, intimidation, property destruction, degrading language and physical violence) toward, family members. A World That Relies on Community and Not Courtrooms. Available data for the program provided by the Prosecuting Attorneys Office, while early, is promising. Restorative Community Pathways (RCP) is the best way to reduce the juvenile crime rate in King County, said Jimmy Hung, Chief Deputy Prosecutor at King Countys Juvenile Division. We provide youth mentors and access to programs focused on personal healing, identity development, and leadership building. Jeremy Crowe, Restorative Programs Supervisor, (206) 477-6528,Jeremy.crowe@kingcounty.govor FIRS Team, (206)263-9001. I frankly have no idea what people who live in neighborhoods where bullets are flying past their head are going through, Hung said. Invest $6.2 million in "Restorative Community Pathways" In lieu of filing charges, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office will refer up to 800 young people by 2022-2023 to receive comprehensive, community-based services. Instead, that money would be used to help people vacate old marijuana-related convictions and settle old fines and court fees. If you look at some of the young people who are engaged in some of these most serious offenses, said Hung, I have some serious questions about how were going to ensure public safety and also have no detention facility at all. From his perspective, a restorative justice model that automatically divides violent offenders from their peers is counterproductive. He received his PhD in the streets, from the University of Rainier and Henderson. Interested in learning more about our team & programs? A bill partially unwinding a 2021 policing reform clears the Legislature. The current program includes: Criminal youth dictating how the program is run Goode also emphasized the importance of the physical space used to house children in need of long-term care and supervision. Joined by King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, departmental program staff, and community-based organizations, Executive Constantine spoke about the countys commitment to connecting youth with services that meet their basic needs and improve community connection and safety. Obviously there are some that are unlikely to reoffend or are better suited getting therapy than facing jailtime, but that is impossible to determine when the entire basis of the program is that the criminal is the real victim and the system itself is the criminal. A restorative practice approach is used with teens and parents together to address violent incidents that have occurred. An important thing to note is that the crime rate in the last two years has increased among adults, not children. 6) As an elected official, political activist, or civic involved person, come and learn or share your concerns for systemic change. But even as the overall number decreased, our current juvenile legal system has a disproportionately harmful impact on youth of color, particularly black youth.
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