by Lauryn Bray

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A county audit has found that staff shortages at King County’s juvenile detention center are causing youths in secure detention to be held in their cells for 14 hours a day, and that youths are staying longer in a facility meant to hold them for less than a month.

These conditions could lead to higher likelihood that youths would reoffend, and the conditions contribute to long, stressful periods when meetings with attorneys are delayed. Meanwhile, with longer cell stays, youths are reporting bouts of disorientation, uncertainty, and trauma, said a report released Wednesday, April 24.

“Long stays in youth secure detention are increasing. The amount of time youth spend in King County secure detention is longer on average than before the COVID-19 pandemic and is now over 30 days,” said Justin Anderson, an auditor with the King County Auditor’s Office.

“That’s an issue, because secure detention is largely designed for and then operates as a facility for short-term stays of less than 30 days,” Anderson said in a presentation with co-auditor Grant Dailey. “As of the end of June last year, the average length of stay in secure detention was 36 days.”

In 2017, 1,429 youths under the age of 18 were booked into King County juvenile secure detention. According to Anderson, the extended length of stays at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center (CCFJC) is due to county and state efforts to reduce the number of youths in secure detention. 

“Over the past few years, there has been a concerted effort among county partners and at the state level to reduce the number of youth booked into secure detention,” Anderson said. “The major driver for this work is because research has shown that time in a controlled corrections-type environment increases recidivism. To put it simply, kids who spend time in detention have a higher likelihood to reoffend.” 

CCFJC is designed to be a detention facility for youths awaiting trial or sentencing; youths who have been sentenced serve their time elsewhere. The report states that the youths detained for longer periods of time typically have more serious cases involving violent crimes. 

“The proportion of the population in secure detention includes youth charged with adult crimes, who have much longer stays than youth charged with juvenile offenses,” according to the audit. 

Anderson said it is because these cases take longer to resolve. “The youth in secure detention who are there longer than 30 days are there for the most part awaiting resolution of their case, regardless of the type of case, and how long these youth will be in detention is somewhat unpredictable, because it depends on the progress of their case,” said Anderson.

The audit also tracked the frequency of attorney and family visits to each youth and found that some youths waited longer than three weeks to meet with attorneys to discuss their case. 

“Some youth in secure detention rarely met with family or defense counsel in person, resulting in increased uncertainty, stress, and anxiety for the youth,” the audit stated. “At least 15 youth averaged more than 21 days between attorney visits.”

The audit recommended that the King County Executive and the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD) conduct an analysis of the needs of youths in secure detention by documenting actual lengths of stay and considering individual therapeutic and skill needs with respect to how services should be differentiated to accommodate longer stays. It also recommends that the DAJD track, document, and report the number of youths who’ve not been visited by an attorney for more than 30 days. 

Anderson also says data shows that 80% of youths sent to CCFJC will stay more than 30 days. 

“In the first half of 2023, 301 youth were released from secure detention, and of those 301 youth, 60 were there for 30 days or more, or 20%; 20% might not seem like much of a problem, [but] we’re looking at averages based on everyone who was booked or released and not the averages of who is actually in secure detention at CCFJC at any given point in time,” Anderson said. “Based on recent history, more than 80% of the youth in secure detention at CCFJC at any given time will be there for 30 days or longer. More than half will be there at least three months, and well over a third — 40% — will be there for over half a year.”

Anderson explained that over the six-month period of time in which the 301 youths were released, their time in detention corresponds to an average population of 47 youths on any given day. 

“Of those 47 youths, 39 are there for a stay of 30 days or more. And of those 39, 29 were in secure detention for at least 90 days. Of them, 20 were in custody for 180 days or longer, and another nine for a year or more,” he said. 

The report also found that in anticipation of the facility’s closure, issues maintaining adequate staffing numbers have led to youths spending an increased amount of time in their cells. 

“If there are not enough juvenile detention officers to cover posts on a shift, the facility operates on what is called a modified schedule,” said auditor Grant Dailey. “[Juvenile detention officers] need breaks during their shifts, but when staffing is low, there may not be a rover or an extra staff member who can relieve and fill a position during these breaks. So instead of taking their breaks staggered — as might be normal — the schedules modify, and all staff take their breaks at the same time. This then means that youth return to their cells while staff take their breaks.”

Dailey says these modified schedules can result in youths spending hours in their cells during the day. “A report by the independent restrictive housing monitor noted that in the first half of 2023, youth spent on average just under two hours a day confined to their cells due to staffing shortages,” he said. “The report also noted that there were two instances where you’ve spent a high of four and a half extra hours in their cells — so that would mean a total of 17 and a half hours a day spent in their cell.”

Youths reported feeling disoriented after so much time alone and without a clock. “We heard that when they’re confined to their cells, they don’t have access to clocks, meaning that they’re unable to track the passage of time and the youth reported becoming disoriented,” Dailey said. “Given the persistent staffing challenges, which have resulted in youth spending more time in their cells, we include a recommendation that the juvenile division ensure that all youth are able to see a clock when confined to their cells.”

Youths also reported questionable water quality at CCFJC. “Some youth expressed concerns about the quality of water in secure detention at CCFJC. DAJD does not have a policy to regularly test water quality in the facility, presenting health and safety risks” the report said.

The audit recommends that DAJD develop a policy to test water quality at CCFJC and inform youths on how to work with County Ombuds to report safety concerns and other issues. The report also recommends the handing out of informative material to youth explaining the differences in submitting grievances to DAJD and to the County Ombuds. 

In anticipation of the facility’s inevitable closure in 2028 — originally planned for 2025 after organizers in 2020 protested the facility’s opening — morale among staff is significantly low. “Low staffing also adversely impacts the ability of the facility to meet the educational, mental health, and recreational needs of youth,” Dailey said. “Amid periods of low staffing and a changing policy landscape, staff and management at CCFJC have consistently described the working culture negatively. And staff noted that low morale and a negative working culture contribute to high turnover.”

The audit recommended that DAJD regularly conduct performance evaluations for JDOs at all levels to highlight positive performance and identify areas for growth. 

Access the full report on the King County webpage.

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📸 Featured Image: 2023 MLK Day march at the King County juvenile detention center. (Photo: Susan Fried)

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