A bill partially unwinding a 2021 policing reform clears the Legislature. The goal of Step-Up is for youth to stop violence and abuse toward their family and develop. (Photo: DJ Martinez). Restorative Community Pathways is a community response to harm that focuses on healing and . FIRS and Step Up focus on families experiencing family violence. Youthhave the opportunity tosign out-of-court agreements in lieu of criminal charging and formal court. Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus said she supports restorative justice and rehabilitation in her community, but expressed concerns that the RCP program would allow certain crimes such as specific assault charges and illegal possession of a firearm. Police, prosecutors, and prisons cant do that and as a result, when we rely on those systems, we continue to see harmful behaviors in our community. FIRS and Step Up focus on families experiencing family violence. Youthhave the opportunity tosign out-of-court agreements in lieu of criminal charging and formal court. Paul Faruq Kiefer is a journalist, historian, and born-and-bred Seattleite. And the variety of diversionary services available to young people is slowly growing. They feel like they have to act differently. The repurposing is the easier part of the conversation.. Our programs focus on personal healing, identity development, and leadership building. Data collected between November 1 of last year and August 18, 2022, shows that of the 145 youth participating in RCP in lieu of prosecution, only 12, or just over eight percent, have had new case referrals. Restorative Community Pathways (RCP) was implemented in November. In my opinion, thats a fundamental misunderstanding of what restorative justice is. 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. DominiqueDavisis the founder and CEO of Community Passageways. 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. The goals of FIRSinclude:decreasing violence in the home,preventing further police contact, and increasing family safety and well-being. University of Washington, Michael G. Foster School of Business. 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. It is headed to Gov. After citing existing law, the prosecutors office comes to this conclusion in this hypothetical scenario. Many criminals, particularly criminal youths, have been victimized in the same way they victimize others. At the end of a Thursday in early March, 28 teenagers sat in the King County Juvenile Detention Center on Alder Street in Seattles Central District. It's a diversion program for some first-time criminal offenders. 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. 410 W. Bakerview Rd Suite 110, Rm #145 Full Bio. 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. 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). Of the 28 young people incarcerated in King County on March 4, nearly half were charged as adults for first-degree assault, attempted murder, or murder charges; they will move to adult detention centers after their 18th birthdays. That is just part of growing up.. Dominique believes those closest to the problem can solve the problem! 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.. the King Countys Restorative Community Pathways (RCP) program, Contact King County Executive Dow Constantine, actual shootings preceded by telltale warning signs, Seattle Mayor plans to focus on root causes of homelessess, Dont be fooled by homeless spending proposals, We need a better approach to end homelessness, Criminal youth dictating how the program is run, Zoom meetings as punishment for organized theft and burglaries, Refusal by prosecutors to file charges even for serious offenses. Washingtons COVID-19 exposure notification app is scheduled to conclude May 11 in tandem with the end of the Public Health. Seattle, WA 98104. The ripple effect is a tsunami of deep economic, generational, civic and historical traumas. In his 20 years of experience as a prosecutor, Hung said his perspective on the prison system has changed. At the end of public comment, the motion came up for a vote among the committee, during which it was rejected as every committee member other than Dunn voted against it. Julie Schulman testified as someone who had been involved in the justice system as a young person and someone who works with youth in support of RCP as well. Beyond this, the community-based. Renton City Councilmembers Kim-Khanh Van and Carmen Rivera echoed this sentiment, expressing belief that the region needs holistic approaches to diverting youth from the court system in favor of a more rehabilitative approach. There must be a case number to track these offenses and the serious felony crimes should be removed from eligibility. For the same period, 233 juveniles were charged through traditional prosecution, with 47, or just over twenty percent, seeing new case referrals. Dominique often says it will take the community to heal the community--we are the ones we have been waiting for. What measures are being put in place to ensure they wont harm someone? On a more fundamental level, Hung said he believes that when it comes to community safety, the people who actually live in communities affected by crime know whats best for their community. On the other hand, RCP provides an equal amount of resources to both the offender and the victim, Hung said. I think we as a society, and especially in America, need to have a come to Jesus moment on what our criminal justice system is actually capable of, Hung said. Instead of suspensions and expulsions, we strive for restorative and culturally-relevant programming. Diversion meetings happen in the community closest to where ayouth lives, with either a staff member or volunteers. Constantine is proposing cutting $4.6 million in funding that the Sheriffs Office gets from tax on retail marijuana sales. 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. Karen Pillar, director of policy for youth legal services office, cited stats from the last time the state studied recidivism rates for incarcerated youth. 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 . This is a moment that cant be missed, Constantine said. 2023 Change Washington. 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. FIRS is a collaborative intervention and approach to address adolescent family violence in a timely, therapeutic, andtrauma-informed alternative to formal court involvement. Get to know a few of our team members & why they partner with Community Passageways. " [Restorative Community Pathways] was launched, again, without any notice to the cities in King County, but it also included being eligible offenses of bringing a gun to school, unlawful. Show them new paths. 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. A restorative inquiry process is used to help youth take responsibility for their behavior, cultivate empathy and make amends for hurtful behavior. Change a young persons life by donating to Community Passageways. Youth who successfully complete a diversion have the addedbenefit of handling a criminal incident without having a criminal conviction. This includes participating in the hiring of community navigators by RCP consortium members. The greater challenge, he said, is reducing the need for those services and deciding whether an end to youth detention is actually the end of detention in its current form. 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. We should be allowed the same grace that the criminal legal system has been shown.. 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. 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. We believe that criminalization and ostracization are ineffective deterrents to unproductive behaviors and that the carceral systempolicing, jail, and state supervisionfurther harms people who have already been negatively impacted by trauma. He has published work withKUOW,North Carolina Public Radio, andThe Progressivemagazine, and he is currently working on a podcast forKUAFin Fayetteville, Arkansas. Our highly-trained and experienced staff and volunteers at Empowered Pathways offer a variety of mediation services to address issues related to youth, as well as restorative services using the highly successful Circles environment approach to opening and continuing effective communication paths. Henok Gebreyohannes. 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. He said RCP provides better accountability for the offender and more support for the victims of crimes compared to the traditional court system. , The FIRS team works with families to assess risk, identify needs, complete safety planning and refer for appropriateservices. We separate the two to a fault, he said. 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. Thats why RCP exists. Hung believes that the Countys decision to hold those young people in jail instead of referring them to service providers means that all other aspects of our society have failed, and that the failure is presenting itself when the best option is locking the kid up in detention. Bringing an end to that practice, Hung said, will require the County to keep scaling up the services it can provide to young people in crisis. What does dysfunction in these systems cost our livelihoods, health, family wellbeing, and taxes? Working hands-on with those directly impacted, You will learn to innovate and bring forward new solutions that help people adjust. Cynthia Ricks-Maccotan, who works for a youth violence prevention program under Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, said the reason the RCP program allows referrals of youth who have committed offenses among those objected to by city leaders such as Backus and Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell is because those are the offenses that historically have been disproportionately more punitive for youth of color. (This article was originally published on PubliCola and has been reprinted under an agreement.). Instead of frustration and denial, we build purpose and opportunity. 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. If youre a gang leader, who are you going to recruit to carry out your thefts and burglaries? 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. Rep. Harris-Talley has spent over 20 years building powerful movements for change in our region and statewide . 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. 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. 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. of youth and young adults were able to remain in the community. They will be responsible for the direction of RCP, hold a central role in supporting community evaluations of RCP, and support in the distribution of funds. While at the FIRS Center, youth engagein activities and discussions to empower, teach, and challenge them to take responsibility, make amends, restorefamily relationships, and promote positive youth development. CONTACT A proposal to pause the recently implemented Restorative Community Pathways program, a program intended to divert juvenile criminal cases from the juvenile justice system into a rehabilitative program, has ignited a countywide debate on justice reform in our region. A big point of contention surrounding the program was gun violence and other violent crime. 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.. 6) As an elected official, political activist, or civic involved person, come and learn or share your concerns for systemic change. In 2016,Dominiqueestablished Community Passageways, after multiple gun related deaths and incidents on Rainier Avenue. She said 50 percent of incarcerated youth end up returning to the criminal justice system. The courtrooms in the old center were cramped and gave little privacy to young defendants, while the new facilitys courtrooms offer more breathing room. 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. Other advocates noted that the county is still reluctant to give young people multiple chances to take part in restorative justice programming. 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. We have civic leadership opportunities, mentoring, and change-making resources available so you can feel confident and be an effective ally for those who have been silenced by the criminal legal sector. Hung said RCP is important because it not only diverts kids from a system that is harmful, but it also provides kids with a level of support the courts simply cant come close to. Young Men of Color ages 16 to 25 are the primary drivers of long-term sentences in Washington State, said Martina Kartman, the founder of Collective Justice, a victim-focused restorative justice program. 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. Critically, RCP also provides equal resources and support to victims. Restorative Programs focus on prevention and early intervention using three models: Family Intervention and Restorative Services (FIRS), Step Up, and Diversion. The goals of FIRSinclude:decreasing violence in the home,preventing further police contact, and increasing family safety and well-being. 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 County's Juvenile Division. 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. SEATTLE The King County Council on Tuesday voted Tuesday to approve funding for a groundbreaking criminal justice diversion program that will let community groups decide what punishment -- if. Be the first to get new stories sent straight into your inbox. Investing in people who are striving to rebuild their lives has a multiplier effect. In comparison, data from the State Department of Children, Youth, and Families showed that from 2011 through 2018 juveniles sent to state prison have a recidivism rate of between 49% and 58% annually. Bakerview Square Business Suites Khandelwal called it a a long overdue departure from a racist, ineffective and failed legal system.. Contact the Council: Main phone: 206-477-1000: TTY/TDD: Relay: 711: Contact all 9 .
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