King County rejects Constantine’s measure to close juvenile detention center

(The Center Square) – Members of the Metropolitan King County Council got an earful from the public today ahead of a vote on a proposal to reject a bid to close the Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center (CCFJC) and to instead shift responsibilities for juvenile detention to private organizations.

King County Executive Dow Constantine called for closing the Juvenile Justice Center in Seattle by 2028 in favor of transitioning juvenile offenders into private settings.

Councilmember Reagan Dunn responded by proposing a motion rejecting Constantine’s plan and urging the full council to commit to keeping the jail open.

“They are the worst of the worst of juvenile offenders. Nearly all of them are felons, overwhelmingly violent felons, who committed murders, rapes and other sexual assaults, and they are so dangerous that there is no place safe to put them outside of the $240 million dollar facility that we built in 2020,” said Dunn.

Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Dunn told The Center Square, “There’s an abolitionist group that wants to dismantle the criminal justice system and replace it with some as yet, undefined system, that has nothing to do with incarceration,” said Dunn who said he was still working to secure a fifth ‘yes’ vote on his proposal ahead of the full council meeting.

With nine members on the council, five votes were needed to secure a majority.

The council heard hours of public testimony Tuesday from activist groups who support closing the facility and members of the community, many urging a yes vote on Dunn’s proposal to keep it open.

Juan Ramos, who recently graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in the Auburn School District, urged the council to keep the youth facility open.

“Please, please, please keep the detention center open,” pleaded Ramos. “While I respect the perspective of those advocating for change, we have to consider the broader impact on our community.”

“These aren’t minor offenders,” said Ramos. “These are people who have committed serious crimes and require a structured environment for recovery to protect the public, including youth like me. Keeping this facility open is a responsible use of taxpayer money and an investment in public safety for a controlled environment where they can change their behavior.”

Several employees of Choose 180 spoke in opposition to Dunn’s proposal. Choose 180 describes itself as “Transforming systems of injustice & supporting the young people who are too often impacted by those systems.”

Edoukou Assouan, a communications & marketing manager for Choose 180, told members, “Councilmember Dunn’s proposal will lock our county into a system of punishment that disproportionately targets black and indigenous youth,” said Assouan. “At Choose 180, 92% of children who complete the diversion programming do not re-engage with the criminal justice system within the year we serve them.”

After hours of public testimony, the council took a recess and then reconvened just before 5 pm.

A number of amendments were then offered for consideration.

Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, who has supported closing the facility, signed onto an amendment to Dunn’s proposal to maintain the facility in the short term but make improvements and work toward eventual closure.

“We support a secure facility that gives community-based organizations a captive audience for healing education and mental health resources,” said Zahilay.

That amendment was adopted.

Ahead of the final vote Councilmember Claudia Balducci urged fellow members to make clear they support Constantine’s goal with King County Care and Closure initiative to eventually shut down the youth detention facility.

“I think it’s an important signal to send,” said Balducci.

Councilmember Zahilay also commented ahead of the final vote.

“We need to change the systems that look comprehensively at these young people,” said Zahilay. “We can commit to changing all of things while recognizing the need for a secure building.”

After a meeting that lasted nearly five hours, the final vote was 8-0 in favor of Dunn’s proposal to keep the juvenile facility open.