King County’s youth jail to remain open after impassioned public comments on both sides

The King County Council voted to declare its intent to keep the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center — the county’s juvenile detention center — open despite fervent public comments arguing for and against keeping it open.

The council eventually voted 8-0 in favor of keeping the institution open, but only after more than 100 people spoke during public comments, which lasted more than two hours Tuesday afternoon.

“Unfortunately, some kids need to go to a juvenile detention center because the other things are not working,” a mother of three told the county council in support of keeping it open.

More background on issue: King County’s plan to close youth detention center met with fierce backlash

“Redemption begins by shifting public dollars away from systems that are rooted in oppression and into those that maintain public health and safety and help people on the path to success,” another woman, who said she lives within walking distance of the jail, countered, arguing the facility goes against the mission of restorative justice.

Juvenile crime is one of the most pressing concerns for the county. According to county data obtained by KUOW, 13-year-olds were booked into juvenile detention 66 times this year compared to 30 in 2023. Approximately one-quarter of the 112 youths in juvenile detention or on 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 harm done to the community by these individuals?”

According to King County Council Vice Chair Reagan Dunn, juvenile felony filings are up 57% from 2022 and up 146% from 2021.

“Please keep the Clark Children and Family Justice Center open,” King County resident Kathleen Brose said during public comments. “We need a secure facility to hold violent youth offenders, especially the repeat offenders.”

The population at the facility has returned to pre-pandemic levels, but the number of staff hasn’t. Nearly a quarter of positions have been unfilled since 2022, causing guards and other security personnel to use solitary confinement, among other methods, as a way to monitor the increasing population of jailed youth within the county.

Jail officials with the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center acknowledged to Publicola that they practice “room confinement” when there isn’t enough staff to patrol the common areas safely. Solitary confinement as a practice has been officially barred federally for minors since 2017. Those in the juvenile center could spend up to 18-20 hours a day in their cells just because of limited staff.

An audit found the average length of youth stays has tripled since 2017, according to KING 5, something the facility is not designed for currently.

“Maintaining what is going on at the Family Justice Center is unjust,” Esmina James, who spoke in support of closing the facility, said during public comment Tuesday afternoon. “Putting children in cages is abuse.”

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King County Executive Dow Constantine has called for closing the juvenile justice center, located in Seattle’s Central District, by 2028. Since 2020, Constantine has called for the transition of juvenile offenders into private settings built around restorative care.

“We urge you to take into account the science statistics and research that has been done proving that jailing young people does not work,” a youth advocate who wished to remain unidentified said.

The motion to keep the juvenile center open passed unanimously, but also with a number of amendments, including looking into alternatives for incarceration for lower-level offenders.

Contributing: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio

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