King County Executive Dow Constantine on Wednesday proposed several new initiatives to cut funding from the county Sheriffs Office, shift resources away from the traditional criminal justice system toward community-based alternatives and move away from traditional fare enforcement on county buses. Jeremy Crowe, RestorativePrograms Supervisor, 206-477-6528, Find certified small business contractors and suppliers, For Families Experiencing Violence in the Home. Show them new paths. We are living with the side effects of inherited, complex and inhumane systems that need renovation. We should be allowed the same grace that the criminal legal system has been shown.. Featured Image: A No New Youth Jail advocate protests outside the Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center. 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. And so someone who is drafting a motion like that just doesnt understand it.. It is at the early education, intervention, 911 call, the hospital and at the jail doors. Some might argue that citing potential school shooters is fear-mongering because such instances are rare. Bakerview Square Business Suites Restorative Community Pathways includes appropriate services and support for harmed parties, and restitution so that youths who cannot pay fines and other financial obligations do not end up in a cycle of probation violations and incarceration. Beyond this, the community-based. We have a system that is wildly racially disproportionate, and its disproportionate despite what Fox News will tell you, because Black and brown people are treated differently throughout our society, including by every element of the criminal and legal system, Constantine said. Play In 2020, the Metropolitan King County Council established Restorative Community Pathways, a coalition of youth serving organizations and peer navigators, including Collective Justice who focuses on Restorative Community Conferencing for youth. This begs the question as to why the county prosecutors chose this scenario out of all the ones available to put into their presentation to cities, rather than a less serious case of schoolyard fighting. 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. Almost all the proposals will require the approval of the Metropolitan King County Council, which will review Constantines budget in the coming weeks. Instead, that money would be used to help people vacate old marijuana-related convictions and settle old fines and court fees. The new buildings amenities and art collection are more respectful, he said, but ultimately, its a kid jail. These models are designed to provide timely, therapeutic, and restorative support to youth and families. A proposal to pause the recently implemented Restorative Community Pathways program, a program intended to divert juvenile criminal cases from the juvenile justice system into a rehabilitative program, has ignited a countywide debate on justice reform in our region. A bill partially unwinding a 2021 policing reform clears the Legislature. Diversiontypically is available for youth with limited or no prior offense history who have committed an offense. That presumes that restorative justice is oppositional to public safety, Hung said. 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.. Thats why our Coalition did a deep dive into the school-to-prison pipeline. Many of us know that something is wrong with the criminal justice system, but we dont know what to do about it or where to start. Though the distinction between serious felonies and other charges usually rests on the existence of a victim, Jordan and other advocates pointed to a hole in that reasoning. Working hands-on with those directly impacted, You will learn to innovate and bring forward new solutions that help people adjust. Instead of suspensions and expulsions, we strive for restorative and culturally-relevant programming. The ripple effect is a tsunami of deep economic, generational, civic and historical traumas. In 2021, we had, by far in the history of this county, the lowest number of juvenile referrals into my office, Hung said. It would work with already established local organizations, like Choose 180, Creative Justice and Community Pathways. She said 50 percent of incarcerated youth end up returning to the criminal justice system. If youre a gang leader, who are you going to recruit to carry out your thefts and burglaries? 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. 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. Sean Goode, the director of Choose 180, said ending youth detention as it currently exists will require the county to invest more faith in programs like his. Hung said the way Dunn and other community leaders have framed restorative justice as being separate or counter to community safety is misguided. Diversion: Keep people out of the prison system and in community. Dominique served as Co-Director of the Choose 180 Program from 2011 to 2016, which was named2015Best New Nonprofit by Seattle Foundation and Seattle Met Magazine under his leadership. This is designed to replace the school-to-prison pipeline with a school-to-life success pipeline. One can presume that this same foundational premise will be used for the adult version of this program the county intends to start soon. 410 W. Bakerview Rd Suite 110, Rm #145 Interested in learning more about our team & programs? To use rising crime as a justification for pausing the program is just not correct, Hung said. Restorative Community Pathways. Contact King County Executive Dow Constantine and tell him not to move forward with the RCP for adults! Police, prosecutors, and prisons cant do that and as a result, when we rely on those systems, we continue to see harmful behaviors in our community. 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. It is headed to Gov. But if you were to have access to the social file, these kids have multiple prior cases in the system. Many have unstable housing and are dealing with mental health and substance abuse issues the kinds of dysfunction that may prompt the judge to decide that there are no better options, and that detention is the safest place for this young person right now, Hung said. 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. Its just sending the wrong message basically saying that one kid is better than the other, when theyre both redeemable.. We have a four-pronged approach to community justice: Prevention: Keep youth on a good path. Similarly, Jordan suggested that young people who are unable to have a positive response to out-patient restorative justice programs might need a long term in-patient care facility staffed by counselors who have experienced mental health crises, substance abuse, systemic racism, and housing insecurity. But his push to cut funding to the Sheriffs Office brought immediate pushback from Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht, whose office said she was not consulted. If caught, they get a slap on the wrist via the RCP and get a cut of the action that is likely more than what theyd earn working an honest job. 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. These can include receiving services, doingcommunity service, or paying a victim to compensate for their financial loss. Constantine is proposing cutting $4.6 million in funding that the Sheriffs Office gets from tax on retail marijuana sales. He knew felony diversion would be a foundational and life changing juncture for young people and he developed a four-prong approach prevention, diversion, incarceration (support) and re-entry. The RCP literally does the opposite, as county documents explicitly state: Since youth are most impacted by decisions related to RCP, the consortium members, program managers, and the County will be accountable to the youth. Whether its becoming a mentor or our helping with vital behind-the-scenes administration, your volunteer time restores and saves lives! The current program includes: Criminal youth dictating how the program is run However, just as there are many homeless who have no desire to reenter normal society, there are criminals who plan to continue that lifestyle. It costs taxpayers anywhere from $30,000 to $250,000a year to keep someone in jail. Restorative Community Pathways. But even as the overall number decreased, our current juvenile legal system has a disproportionately harmful impact on youth of color, particularly black youth. 2 dead, 1 critically wounded in shooting at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle, Think Seattle-area property taxes are rising fast? And they come even as the coronavirus pandemic has forced cutbacks across nearly all branches of county government. , Youth are referred to diversion by the Prosecuting Attorneys Office. Jimmy Hung, chief deputy prosecutor of the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Offices juvenile division, spoke to the thousands of juvenile prosecution referrals his office would typically receive in past years and the difficult decisions he and his office have had to make about when it makes sense to bring a juvenile into the court system. This 2020 short documentary presented by the Seattle Seahawks, tells the story of Restorative Community Pathways, a program that seeks to alter the current juvenile legal system and instead. 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. 2) Reach out to us related to the iChange Justice Podcast offer suggestions, ask questions, nominate guests. 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. 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. 2) You are investing in the future while healing the past. For the same period, 233 juveniles were charged through traditional prosecution, with 47, or just over twenty percent, seeing new case referrals. Jay Inslee for his expected signing. From his perspective, a restorative justice model that automatically divides violent offenders from their peers is counterproductive. Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley 37th Legislative District, Co-Sponsor. 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. The FIRS Center is staffed 24/7 by Pioneer Human Services. At the end of a Thursday in early March, 28 teenagers sat in the King County Juvenile Detention Center on Alder Street in Seattles Central District. 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. Reintegrate: Ensure a smooth, successful integration into the community. KC Councilmember Reagan Dunn wanted to pause the program after local mayors expressed concern. 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. Carr then pivoted to the newly-implemented Restorative Community Pathways (RCP). (This article was originally published on PubliCola and has been reprinted under an agreement.). Available data for the program provided by the Prosecuting Attorneys Office, while early, is promising. Theres nothing about that new building that feels like a therapeutic space, he said. And Im like really? Jay Inslee for his expected signing. The traditional court system spends money on prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, incarceration and supervision, which are all concerned with the offender, Hung said. Lily Anderson, Senior Social Worker, or the, Youth who are eligible for diversion, along with their parent or guardian, meet with a team of trained volunteers (learn more about the Partnership for Youth Justice program and theDiversion Community Accountability Board. A restorative practice approach is used with teens and parents together to address violent incidents that have occurred. Our programs focus on personal healing, identity development, and leadership building. We know that felonies carry with them collateral consequences that affect a persons ability to get a job, or get education, or to get housing all of those things really lead to de-stabilize that individual and their neighborhood and their family, King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg said. Decades of research have shown that putting kids through the criminal justice system pushes them toward criminal behavior rather than away from it. The same could be said for vehicle theft and other types of non-violent crime that undermine public safety and quality of life. 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. 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. With everything going on in this country youre going to allow people to go to a program with no checkback thats brought a gun to school?. Full Bio. Bottomline, the accumulated effect is that we are ending habitual trauma cycles that plague individuals, families and the whole community network. Mental Health Therapist. 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.. She said leaders should listen to the first-hand experiences and experts who are involved with these programs. In time, he decided he needed to do no more harm to the community and he was going to be a positive contributor. 1,706 Followers, 64 Following, 49 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Restorative Community Pathways (@restorative_community_pathways) Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. 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. 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. . the King Countys Restorative Community Pathways (RCP) program, Contact King County Executive Dow Constantine, actual shootings preceded by telltale warning signs, Seattle Mayor plans to focus on root causes of homelessess, Dont be fooled by homeless spending proposals, We need a better approach to end homelessness, Criminal youth dictating how the program is run, Zoom meetings as punishment for organized theft and burglaries, Refusal by prosecutors to file charges even for serious offenses. A World That Relies on Community and Not Courtrooms. Paul Faruq Kiefer is a journalist, historian, and born-and-bred Seattleite. County audits have found that fare enforcement disproportionately targets the homeless and people of color. team are to define what restorative practices are and are not, identify pathways for gathering relevant qualitative data, assess the readiness and engagement levels of schools and staff, and evolve and strengthen relationships between the team, the department, schools, and other central office staff and community stakeholders. 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. There should be real ramifications, including prosecution, for these dangerous crimes.. The goal of Step-Up is for youth to stop violence and abuse toward their family and develop. 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. 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. It could be a medical clinic. However, that doesnt take away their moral agency, and the worst thing to teach them is that their behavior and subsequent arrest wasnt their fault, but was due to systemic oppression. Rep. Harris-Talley has spent over 20 years building powerful movements for change in our region and statewide . Some money would also be shifted toward youth marijuana-prevention programs. 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. It is headed to Gov. Step-Up is an internationally recognized adolescent family violence intervention program designed to address youthviolence (including threats, intimidation, property destruction, degrading language and physical violence) towardfamily members. Change a young persons life by donating to Community Passageways. The courtrooms in the old center were cramped and gave little privacy to young defendants, while the new facilitys courtrooms offer more breathing room. He has published work withKUOW,North Carolina Public Radio, andThe Progressivemagazine, and he is currently working on a podcast forKUAFin Fayetteville, Arkansas. It has metastasized into a civic systems problem and a taxpayers nightmare. Reintegrate: Ensure a smooth, successful integration into the community. 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. And the variety of diversionary services available to young people is slowly growing. Calls to reform the juvenile legal system have increased over the past decade, and RCP is a direct response to the need for systemic change, ensuring youth with lived experience and community members and organizations impacted by these issues are closely engaged with human service providers and government agencies to meet collective goals, including increased public safety and restorative programs. Many criminals, particularly criminal youths, have been victimized in the same way they victimize others. Diversion: Keep people out of the prison system and in community. I think we as a society, and especially in America, need to have a come to Jesus moment on what our criminal justice system is actually capable of, Hung said. Controversial King County program diverts young offenders from incarceration for certain crimes. The program diverts kids who have committed a crime away from the prison system and instead focuses on rehabilitation through . The goals of FIRSinclude:decreasing violence in the home,preventing further police contact, and increasing family safety and well-being. From a legal perspective, this would be a felony robbery. Metro buses have been free to ride since the pandemic began, but fare collection could restart as soon as Oct. 1 and fare enforcement could resume as soon as Jan. 1. At the end of public comment, the motion came up for a vote among the committee, during which it was rejected as every committee member other than Dunn voted against it. Its quite possible that the treatment that we used wasnt the appropriate treatment. The new center was built next to the decaying, 69-year-old Youth Services Center. What were not very good at is wrapping ourselves around a young person to help them make better decisions and to turn their lives around, Hung said. On a more fundamental level, Hung said he believes that when it comes to community safety, the people who actually live in communities affected by crime know whats best for their community. Youthhave the opportunity tosign out-of-court agreements in lieu of criminal charging and formal court. The new building includes a gym, a clinic, a library, and a spiritual center, as well as a room stocked with donated clothes for young people to wear to court appearances or job interviews.

What Happened To David Muir Abc News, Ascension: Dreamscape Rules, Best Ski Lessons Snoqualmie, Best Regards And Have A Nice Weekend, Sophie Clinical Psychologist Wellington, Articles R