Restorative Community Pathways also 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. That is just part of growing up.. Instead of police, prosecutors, and judges, we operate with mentors, counselors, and circle keepers. A program review from 2014 showed just under 20% of youth diverted to Choose 180s program committed additional crimes within a year only 5% lower than a control group with similar characteristics. Please reach out for more information on our volunteer needs. Some money would also be shifted toward youth marijuana-prevention programs. Its no Bellingham, WA lawmakers deadlocked as drugs ravage Snohomish County, rest of state, Woman shot in West Seattle, hours after 2 killed on Capitol Hill, Oregon tells a cautionary tale about drugs, but were not listening, fare enforcement disproportionately targets. Diverting a potential school shooter to a social program, when there have been repeated instances of actual shootings preceded by telltale warning signs, is beyond irresponsible. FIRS and Step Up focus on families experiencing family violence. The KCPAO will forward. It. Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. We separate the two to a fault, he said. 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. 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. Over time, the RCP Youth Steering Committee will develop to be directed by youth and young adults who have completed the RCP program. Restorative Community Pathways offers diversion for youth involved in a range of felony crimes, including organized retail theft, assault, residential burglary, burglary, and unlawful display and possession of a firearm. But theyre also overlooked as victims. King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn recently proposed a motion to recommend pausing the program just months into its implementation. 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. Seattle, WA. 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. There should be real ramifications, including prosecution, for these dangerous crimes.. If passed, the property tax levy will help fund behavioral health infrastructure in the region. Hung said data over many decades suggest how effective restorative justice can be in changing behaviors of juvenile offenders, especially when compared to the effects that incarceration has been shown to have on youth. Hung said the way Dunn and other community leaders have framed restorative justice as being separate or counter to community safety is misguided. The FIRS Center is staffed 24/7 by Pioneer Human Services. Karen Pillar, director of policy for youth legal services office, cited stats from the last time the state studied recidivism rates for incarcerated youth. 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. She believes diverting these kinds of juvenile offenders from courts could allow them to escape accountability. Critically, RCP also provides equal resources and support to victims. 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. , The FIRS Center is a unique respite facility within the Patricia Clark Children and Family Justice Center offering analternative to secure detention for youth referred for family violence. It may be something that looks very much like detention, but are we going to call it something different and claim that were at zero youth detention?. Interested in learning more about our team & programs? She said 50 percent of incarcerated youth end up returning to the criminal justice system. According to the countys presentation, those include: Unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree is another charge that Ferrell said shouldnt be eligible for diversion. KC Councilmember Reagan Dunn wanted to pause the program after local mayors expressed concern. 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.. 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.. A big point of contention surrounding the program was gun violence and other violent crime. The reality of the situation is that the criminal justice system often does more harm than good, he said, especially when it comes to kids. (This article was originally published on PubliCola and has been reprinted under an agreement.). 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. ChangeWA is a non-partisan 501(c)(4) organization focused on advancing common sense policies around smart growth, public safety, government accountability and good governance throughout Washington state. Our coalition has found that the roots of the problem start local. Bellingham, WA 98226, RCC is a 501c3 non-profit organization | Copyright 2023 The Restorative Community Coalition, Whatcom County Jail Trauma Chart the RADD-RAT Symptoms, Stop Punishing Taxpayers Start Rebuilding Community, Whatcom County Jail Trauma Chart the RADD-RAT Symptoms. Over 25 people signed up to testify in support of the Restorative Community Pathways program. Dominique believes those closest to the problem can solve the problem! She said leaders should listen to the first-hand experiences and experts who are involved with these programs. However in the last two years during the pandemic, violent crime has risen, but it has also risen in every other major metropolitan area in the United States, so the issue isnt unique to King County, Hung said. By 2020, Choose 180s annual report noted that 96% of the young people it served did not reoffend within a year. 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. To use rising crime as a justification for pausing the program is just not correct, Hung said. Mediation allows people an opportunity to speak . But despite the new alternatives, the number of young people spending the night in cells in the mural-bedecked facility on Alder Street has effectively plateaued. It would work with already established local organizations, like Choose 180, Creative Justice and Community Pathways. Ferrell has described the program as easily fixable, stating that accountable and judicial oversight needs to incorporated. The great thing about Restorative Community Pathways is that the folks in the community who run this program treat the person who has been harmed and the person who has caused harm as equals and they provide support for both of them, Hung said. interventions at the Patricia Clark Child and Family Justice Center and in the community. Restorative Community Pathways Community Navigator. "Restorative Community Pathways (RCP) is an evidence-based strategy for holding young people who commit a first-time offense accountable, reducing youth incarceration, and racial disproportionality in the juvenile justice system," the statement continued. Our Ambassadors work with heart, humility, and compassion, to lead community and school-based healing circles, individual and family case management, court advocacy, and youth leadership opportunities. Restorative Community Pathways (RCP) is the best way to reduce the juvenile crime rate in King County, said Jimmy Hung, Chief Deputy Prosecutor at King Countys Juvenile Division. All Rights Reserved. In 2016,Dominiqueestablished Community Passageways, after multiple gun related deaths and incidents on Rainier Avenue. What does dysfunction in these systems cost our livelihoods, health, family wellbeing, and taxes? And they come even as the coronavirus pandemic has forced cutbacks across nearly all branches of county government. 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. Sentencing in suitcase murders | Podcast, King County Councilmember proposes regional ban on public drug use, King County Crisis Care Levy passing in first election results, Washingtons COVID-19 exposure notification app to end May 11, Firearms scheme leads to federal charges | King County Crime Dive. The FIRS Center is a unique respite facility within the Patricia Clark Children and Family Justice Center offering analternative to secure detention for youth referred for family violence. Diversion: Keep people out of the prison system and in community. Restorative Community Pathways has funds to offer the victims of crimes immediate restitution without going through a lengthy court process, Hung said. Though some amount of recidivism is unavoidable, the outcomes of the countys diversionary programs have shown some promising improvements. 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. Mailing address: Thats why our Coalition did a deep dive into the school-to-prison pipeline. 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. Time, money and resources become more than a click of a button. Under the RCP, the potential school shooter would be referred to one of the community groups such as 180 Collective, which initially proposed RCPs creation. The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times. 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. Support: Support people already in the prison system. It could become a facility that serves an older population of young adults, said Nance. Teaching & Advancement Project Manager. Restorative Programs focus on prevention and early intervention using three models: Family Intervention andRestorative Services (FIRS), Step Up, and Diversion. 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. Step-Up accepts referrals from court staff, community providers and families and facilitates both individual and groupinterventions at the Patricia Clark Child and Family Justice Center and in the community. Seattle, WA 98104. Our community-centered and evidence-based model provides an alternative to the current criminal legal system. The new buildings amenities and art collection are more respectful, he said, but ultimately, its a kid jail. When it opened, the County offered tours to show off the pastel-colored walls, art collection, and brightly lit common areas that set it apart from the old facility. 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. 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. The same could be said for vehicle theft and other types of non-violent crime that undermine public safety and quality of life. Youth who successfully complete a diversion have the addedbenefit of handling a criminal incident without having a criminal conviction. Joined by King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, departmental program staff, and community-based organizations, Executive Constantine spoke about the countys commitment to connecting youth with services that meet their basic needs and improve community connection and safety. Among the organizations thats received taxpayer money as part of the RCP is Community Passageways, which states on its website that the juvenile criminals they work with are the real victims. Any long-term facilities that might replace the current detention center, Goode said, would need to be staffed by people with experience and training resembling that of the case managers and counselors who currently work with restorative justice programs in King County. Dominique often says it will take the community to heal the community--we are the ones we have been waiting for. We are living with the side effects of inherited, complex and inhumane systems that need renovation. The county will launch new restorative justice programs, for both adult and youth offenders, aimed at keeping people out of the traditional criminal justice system. Email: mail@therestorativecommunity.org Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley 37th Legislative District, Co-Sponsor. This includes increased gun violence in domestic violence situations, around homelessness, and interestingly enough, road rage. In time, he decided he needed to do no more harm to the community and he was going to be a positive contributor. Restorative Community Pathways for youth offenders contrasts with traditional prosecution. It would launch by 2022 and would be the countys first diversion program, in this form, for felony offenders, said Anita Khandelwal, director of the King County Public Defenders office. 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. If we want to end this cycle of violence, if we want to see all of our community members thrive, then we must first see all of us as we see ourselves; flawed, human, and in our woundedness capable of causing harm and as we heal, capable of infinite good. Washingtons COVID-19 exposure notification app is scheduled to conclude May 11 in tandem with the end of the Public Health. 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. At the same time, Change Washington believes other reforms should include the following: Theres been enough wasted spending and no accountability when it comes to addressing the homelessness crisis in King County. Are you a young person in the Seattle-area who wants to participate in our programs? Since 2021, Collective Justice has been receiving cases pre-charge . The new center was built next to the decaying, 69-year-old Youth Services Center. 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. The same person who goes through the justice system as a victim one day goes through as a defendant the next. If the county wants to find alternatives to detention for the young people facing serious felony charges, she said, the solution may involve offering victim support services more widely. If you look at some of the young people who are engaged in some of these most serious offenses, said Hung, I have some serious questions about how were going to ensure public safety and also have no detention facility at all. Advocacy Program Coordinator. In study after study, children prosecuted in juvenile court achieve less success and do more harm than comparable youth who have been diverted out of the formal court system. If a young person goes through programming and they end up slipping back into behavior thats challenging or problematic, then people look at the work and say, Oh, well, this program didnt work, he said. The final steps toward the goal of ending youth detention by 2025 will require the County to agree to non-detention-based alternatives that can support young people in the most dire circumstances including people for whom the County doesnt see a space in the existing restorative justice programs. In study after study, children prosecuted in juvenile court achieve less success and do more harm than comparable youth who have been diverted out of the formal court system.. Jeremy Crowe, Restorative Programs Supervisor, (206) 477-6528,Jeremy.crowe@kingcounty.govor FIRS Team, (206)263-9001. 410 W. Bakerview Rd Suite 110, Rm #145 With restrictions about COVID-19 rapidly changing, please check with individual departments to be sure a building is open before you seek in-person service. Community Passageways is driven by the belief that guidance and support are more effective in inspiring people to make positive choices, seeing their unlimited potential and envisioning a future where they can live their lives fully. 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. 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. But, Hung said, reasonably this kind of situation would make more sense to be dealt with between the families in a community-based approach, rather than to drag that student into the juvenile justice system. 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. 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. He said the cuts equate to about 30 patrol deputies or an approximate 22% reduction in 911 service to unincorporated areas of King County.. A bill partially unwinding a 2021 policing reform clears the Legislature. Contact the Council: Main phone: 206-477-1000: TTY/TDD: Relay: 711: Contact all 9 . Decades of research have shown that putting kids through the criminal justice system pushes them toward criminal behavior rather than away from it. In my opinion, thats a fundamental misunderstanding of what restorative justice is. Dow Constantine. The consortium will also include programming for young people charged in adult court; under current Washington law, kids aged 16 to 17 charged with serious violent felonies are automatically placed in adult court. 2) Reach out to us related to the iChange Justice Podcast offer suggestions, ask questions, nominate guests. They were consulted on both fronts prior to todays announcement. . Schulman said she wondered why Dunn would take such a large step backward from progressive and holistic solutions to justice reform that works to break down the school-to-prison pipeline. I wont mince words about that., As King County continues to scale down its use of detention for children, the future of the new facility on Alder Street remains uncertain. 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. Restorative Community Pathways. Restorative Community Pathways has funds to offer the victims of crimes immediate restitution without going through a lengthy court process, Hung said. Beyond this, the community-based. The requirements of the agreement are defined by law and guided by principlesof Restorative Justice using a Positive Youth Development Model. Khandelwal called it a a long overdue departure from a racist, ineffective and failed legal system.. Moreover, what is left out is whether keeping a juvenile in jail or giving them social services is in the best interest of public safety. We will gather a wealth of wisdom from our diversity: 1) Join us at our monthly community Membership meeting to learn from others directly about their experiences, their problems and resolutions. 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?. DominiqueDavisis the founder and CEO of Community Passageways. 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. Contact the entire King County Council and tell them to pass a resolution postponing the adult version of the Restorative Community Pathways program until it includes accountability measures and the judiciary! Many criminals, particularly criminal youths, have been victimized in the same way they victimize others. An important thing to note is that the crime rate in the last two years has increased among adults, not children. 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). However, just as there are many homeless who have no desire to reenter normal society, there are criminals who plan to continue that lifestyle. Director of Programs. But lets not pretend theyre only targeting petty, seemingly harmless crimes. Within the first year, RCP aims to divert 400 low-level, first-time juvenile cases to an existing network of restorative justice organizations that provide immediate responses and support for youth and harmed parties. We have a four-pronged approach to community justice: Prevention: Keep youth on a good path. To demonstrate this philosophy, he used an example of a situation in which two school students see each other outside of school and one decides he is going to bully the other and take his backpack. Contact King County Executive Dow Constantine and tell him not to move forward with the RCP for adults! 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. Change a young persons life by donating to Community Passageways. Izzy Eads. That is precisely the opposite of what they put in their unprofessional PowerPoint presentation. Who is held accountable? , The FIRS team works with families to assess risk, identify needs, complete safety planning and refer for appropriateservices. It could be a medical clinic. 1,706 Followers, 64 Following, 49 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Restorative Community Pathways (@restorative_community_pathways) Marlon Brown, a board member of Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County, called the changes a first step. The rise in gun crime has been associated with adults who havent been involved with gun crime before, not kids, Hung said. The Youth Steering Committee will be responsible for development of the RCP process after program launch. So who am I to say I have some monopoly on knowing what keeps communities safe, right?. Almost all the proposals will require the approval of the Metropolitan King County Council, which will review Constantines budget in the coming weeks. It costs taxpayers anywhere from $30,000 to $250,000a year to keep someone in jail. From his perspective, a restorative justice model that automatically divides violent offenders from their peers is counterproductive. A $6.2 million program called "Restorative Community Pathways" would refer up to 800 young people, by 2023, to community-based services, rather than filing criminal charges against them. Young people kept in the community through their dedication and our support have gone on to enroll in college, start businesses, graduate from high school, and help rebuild our communities. It will also depend on how the entities guiding the process both in county government and in the nonprofit sector define the end of youth detention.. "RCP at its core is a program that provides healing and restoration for youth. There must be a case number to track these offenses and the serious felony crimes should be removed from eligibility. Finding alternatives for most of the young people in detention facing serious charges, and for those who have passed through the prosecutors office multiple times, will be a delicate process. The ripple effect is a tsunami of deep economic, generational, civic and historical traumas. Gun violence related to gang activity has actually remained relatively stable over the course of the pandemic, Hung said. On the other hand, RCP provides an equal amount of resources to both the offender and the victim, Hung said. 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. County audits have found that fare enforcement disproportionately targets the homeless and people of color. King County hasnt resolved how it will tackle the next four years of juvenile justice reform. The current program includes: Criminal youth dictating how the program is run Office Address: 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. In a normal, sane criminal justice system, the law-abiding authorities run the show and the criminals are held accountable. Initially, he supported the supposed tough on crime approach toward dealing with the crime by locking people up. But his push to cut funding to the Sheriffs Office brought immediate pushback from Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht, whose office said she was not consulted. 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. Its quite possible that the treatment that we used wasnt the appropriate treatment. The only thing Hung as a prosecutor can promise the victim is that he will listen to them, and even in cases in which restitution to the victim is ordered, it is rarely ever paid out. Jeremy Crowe, RestorativePrograms Supervisor, 206-477-6528,jeremy.crowe@kingcounty.gov. Creative Justice and Collective Justiceare working with the King County Department of Public Defense to form Restorative Community Pathways, a consortium of service providers for children facing potential misdemeanor . Its emotionally rewarding, humanizing and good business to reclaim lives and invest in human potential. An additional $2.7 million investment would divert about 1,000 first-time, nonviolent adult offenders out of the judicial system. After citing existing law, the prosecutors office comes to this conclusion in this hypothetical scenario. 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. 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. If youre a gang leader, who are you going to recruit to carry out your thefts and burglaries? The proposals, part of the biennial budget that Constantine will present next week, have been spurred by the months of protests against police brutality and systemic racism that have dominated the nation and the region this summer. 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.