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Paul reports on police accountability for PubliCola. But his push to cut funding to the Sheriffs Office brought immediate pushback from Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht, whose office said she was not consulted. It could become a facility that serves an older population of young adults, said Nance. 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. Henok Gebreyohannes. 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. Community testifies in support of restorative justice for youth in The ripple effect is a tsunami of deep economic, generational, civic and historical traumas. 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. King County Executive Dow Constantine proposes new - The Seattle Times Under the existing system, 99.9% of the resources are directed toward the offender and next to no resources are given to the victim, Hung said. 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. With these changes, RCP has the potential to be a successful alternative to jail time for first-time juvenile offenders and will have my support.. The first program started in 2017 with a few youth and young adults, to date, Community Passageways serves over 500 young people a year with multiple programs, including school based, court advocacy, diversion, community support (emergency response), gang intervention, healing circles, youth advocacy, and family support. 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. 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. Bakerview Square Business Suites King County resident Abby Brockman testified in favor of the program, saying that Dunns argument against the RCP seems to pit restorative justice and public safety against each other. Youthhave the opportunity tosign out-of-court agreements in lieu of criminal charging and formal court. Khandelwal called it a a long overdue departure from a racist, ineffective and failed legal system.. 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. Community Passageways CP COVID-19 Response: We are continuously committed to helping young people, their families, and the community by meeting basic needs, meeting virtually, and advocating for the release of incarcerated people. Reintegrate: Ensure a smooth, successful integration into the community. 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. Community Passageways (CP) is a Seattle based nonprofit founded in 2017 with a vision for zero youth incarceration. Decades of research have shown that putting kids through the criminal justice system pushes them toward criminal behavior rather than away from it. The county prosecutors office expects to refer between 700 and 800 young people to the program by 2022 or 2023: as much as 80% of the prosecutors current juvenile caseload. Instead of court, some people who've committed a crime could. In time, he decided he needed to do no more harm to the community and he was going to be a positive contributor. Volunteering with Community Passageways is a way to invest your skills, heart, and mind into our young people. Our coalition has found that the roots of the problem start local. The county still jails young people charged with more the most serious felonies including first-degree assault, robbery, and murder as a default. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), to guide the County toward an end to youth detention, Patricia H Clark Children and Family Justice Center, Filipino Restaurant CheBogz Rallies Support for Beacon Hill Grand Opening, Weekend Reads | COVID Responses Across the U.S.: What Worked, What Didnt, and What Made a Difference, OPINION | Guns Have Become the Tools of Cowards, OPINION | Get in the Game for Girls Sports. The next county prosecutor can either heed those lessons when it comes to public safety, or force residents to suffer the consequences yet more failed public policies. What does dysfunction in these systems cost our livelihoods, health, family wellbeing, and taxes? So last November, King County launched a new diversion process for youth called Restorative Community Pathways. Four of the most prominent existing programs Choose 180, Community Passageways, Creative Justice, and Collective Justice are working with the King County Department of Public Defense to form Restorative Community Pathways, a consortium of service providers for children facing potential misdemeanor or first-time felony charges. CONTACT Who is responsible? 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. But lets take organized retail theft or organized burglary, which also falls underneath the program and is a huge problem right now 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. Seattle Times staff reporter King County will keep moving forward with a new juvenile restorative justice program, passed in the wake of 2020's mass racial justice protests, despite the. What's Next in King County's Path to Ending Youth Detention? Most of theseservices are offered without the filing of criminal charges or formal court processing. King County Executive Dow Constantine shared updates on the early success of Restorative Community Pathways (RCP), an evidence-based program aimed at reducing youth incarceration and racial disproportionality in the juvenile legal system. Some restorative justice advocates including people who spent time in youth detention centers challenge the additional scrutiny shown to young people charged with serious crimes, particularly violent ones. It has great artwork and lounge areas, but that doesnt make it therapeutic., Hung knows that the aesthetic changes to the detention center dont amount to a kind of restorative justice. Get directions. Over the last 20 years in Seattle, we have seen a sharp decline in the number of young people in detention. The FIRS Center is staffed 24/7 by Pioneer Human Services. From reducing prison sentences to developing thriving young adults, Community Passageways impact on our young people and the community is wide-reaching. We provide youth mentors and access to programs focused on personal healing, identity development, and leadership building. Below is a snapshot of our effectiveness between 2017 and 2018. off prison time compared to initial charges. Dunns proposal was in response to concerns about the program brought up by South King County Mayors Jim Ferrell (Federal Way), Nancy Backus (Auburn), Dana Ralph (Kent) and Armondo Pavone (Renton). 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. Its emotionally rewarding, humanizing and good business to reclaim lives and invest in human potential. 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.. DominiqueDavisis the founder and CEO of Community Passageways. One can presume that this same foundational premise will be used for the adult version of this program the county intends to start soon. Its a community problem. Many youth avoid secure detention. The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times. That is precisely the opposite of what they put in their unprofessional PowerPoint presentation. As part of RCP, youth are able to connect to services and interventions aimed at repairing the harm that they caused and reducing their likelihood of reoffending. Restorative Community Pathways is an evidence and community-based program to help change a youths behavior, reducing crime and creating a better future for themselves, their families, and our community. While most cases referred to Restorative Community Pathways involve alleged misdemeanors, the program expands the number of eligible allegations to include more felonies than the previous. 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. From his perspective, a restorative justice model that automatically divides violent offenders from their peers is counterproductive. The COVID recession, along with the need to fundamentally transform our criminal legal system, created necessary budget reductions for the King County Sheriffs Office, Gallagher said. Homelessness, criminalization of poverty, the Covid crisis, technology and social justice issues are only part of the problems we face. 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. Interested in learning more about our team & programs? Community Passageways Bottomline, the accumulated effect is that we are ending habitual trauma cycles that plague individuals, families and the whole community network. Critically, RCP also provides equal resources and support to victims. . Teaching & Advancement Project Manager. FIRS is a collaborative intervention and approach to address adolescent family violence in a timely, therapeutic, andtrauma-informed alternative to formal court involvement. Early data from Restorative Community Pathways, a pre-filing diversion program for nonviolent youth, shows an 8% recidivism rate compared to a 57% recidivism rate for youth who served time in. Or do you know someone who would benefit from our programs? Brockman said she believes restorative justice and public safety can coexist and that restorative justice that works to rehabilitate rather than punish is a public safety strategy. This is a moment that cant be missed, Constantine said. We have a four-pronged approach to community justice: Prevention: Keep youth on a good path. Controversial King County program diverts young offenders from incarceration for certain crimes. Hannah Long - Finance Coordinator - Restorative Community Pathways 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.