King County councilmember calls for closer look at programs that keep at-risk kids out of jail

On Monday, King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn called for a state audit of county programs meant to keep at-risk youth out of jail.

His letter to State Auditor McCarthy includes the Restorative Community Pathways program, where the county contracts with a series of community nonprofits for court diversion. He cited a past incident.

“The Community Passageways employee who fired a gun at the young man in question had just been convicted of a firearms violation one year prior. Though Community Passageways has opted to end its contract with King County, there needs to be improvements made to King County’s internal processes to prevent similar occurrences in the future,” said Councilmember Dunn. “It is, frankly, unjustifiable that King County is not only entrusting our troubled youth to unreformed criminals who are directly harming them but are funding these very criminals with public dollars.”

The letter was sparked by concerns raised over the lack of tracking of youth participation and outcomes. Dunn said more than $17 million has been given to private organizations for their juvenile rehabilitation services but they have not provided any data on how their programs are effective.

“To date, King County has allocated $17.5 million in public funds to 18 private organizations that are responsible for preventing youth gun violence and incarceration by treating juvenile offenders outside of the judicial court system,” he said. “Alarmingly, these organizations do not track or collect metrics that would demonstrate meaningful success, such as whether the juvenile offenders complete all requirements of the rehabilitation program or not, or whether the juvenile offenders commit future criminal charges. Because of this lack of information, we do not know whether these programs benefit either public safety or the juvenile offender.

He continued by saying these programs are important but should clearly make a difference and should not deter from keeping the public safe.

“We must have diversion programs available for juvenile offenders that are not just feel-good measures but are clearly successful in improving their decision-making and altering their trajectory, giving them hope for a future that isn’t defined by the long-term consequences associated with committing crimes. It’s also pertinent that King County is balancing the need for juvenile diversion services against the responsibility to provide for public safety and bring justice to victims,” he said.

Councilmember Dunn’s request included state performance and financial audits.

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