John Braun: Find more space for juvenile offenders, but stop pairing them with adults

Comment from Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia

Much can be said about the governor’s proposal to address overcrowding at Green Hill School in Chehalis by repurposing a vacant wing of the state prison near Aberdeen.

Here’s the obvious reaction: It’s about time.

Gov. Jay Inslee has been incredibly slow to respond to the problems in Green Hill. It has been almost 10 months since I wrote to him asking him to address not only the severe overcrowding, but also the riots, drug overdoses, contraband smuggling and crimes committed by employees on the premises.

These issues have been addressed by local law enforcement, courageous Green Hill employees and the good work of some in the news media.

As a legislator, and because the residents and employees of Green Hill are my constituents, I have brought these concerns directly to the Governor. In early February, I told him that it was not right for children placed in state care by our justice system to be placed in such positions.

The governor’s Nov. 25 announcement could also be described as “too little, too late.”

Green Hill’s safe operating capacity is 180 residents. According to news reports, the population had topped 200 since February and reached 245 in late spring.

The Inslee proposal would open no more than 48 beds at Stafford Creek Correctional Center. This would make it impossible to cope with a further population increase like in Green Hill in May.

Which is too late – I realize that the Department of Children, Youth and Families has more to do than just manage the state’s youth rehabilitation facilities.

However, had Inslee and the DCYF director been on top of things and given this situation its due priority, the Stafford Creek proposal could have been put on the table for broader discussion many months ago.

Instead, they wasted valuable time with illegal and unworkable answers.

In early July, DCYF suddenly announced that Green Hill and its King County counterpart, Echo Glen Children’s Center, would stop accepting juveniles sentenced from county courts. Days later, just as suddenly, the agency sent 43 Green Hill residents to adult prisons.

Both measures were quickly reversed after the courts got involved.

By mid-August, Inslee and his administration appeared to be out of ill-conceived policies. He called on correctional authorities to intervene and help in Green Hill.

Additionally, within a few weeks, the idea of ​​creating spaces for juveniles at the Stafford Creek Adult Prison emerged.

Instead of thoughtfully responding to the concerns I raised in February, Inslee responded by suggesting I was uninformed.

This was done with the same arrogance that people in Washington displayed when he was questioned about other decisions, such as his authoritarian response to the pandemic.

It is now clear that either Inslee was the one who was uninformed or he was simply determined to continue covering up the seriousness of the situation at Green Hill.

Another aspect of Inslee’s proposal is his disappointing decision to leave Republicans in the dark. Green Hill and Stafford Creek are in Republican-serving districts, yet we were all kept away from Inslee’s press conference on November 25th.

If his proposal becomes reality, it will impact the people who are or will be our voters. We as legislators are also asked to approve funding requests related to more space for youth.

Involving local legislators would have been and still is the right thing to do. Governor-elect Bob Ferguson has a chance to succeed where Inslee failed.

On the surface, it makes perfect sense for DCYF to lease unused space in Stafford Creek. This prison is one of the newest in the state, opening less than 25 years ago. Additionally, housing youth on the same campus as adults should allow for more efficient handling of necessities such as campus security and food services.

Still, people in Southwest Washington might shake their heads as they recall how the state gave up hundreds of juvenile detention beds at the former Maple Lane School north of Centralia and at the Naselle Youth Camp in southern Pacific County.

Maple Lane’s time as a juvenile facility ended abruptly in 2011 because lawmakers and Inslee’s predecessor decided to redirect resources to Green Hill when the state budget was in dire shape.

Naselle had his last residency leave in September 2022, following another budget decision. The remote location and the governor’s and DCYF’s “efforts to expand beyond incarceration” for juvenile offenders were also unhelpful, according to a report to lawmakers.

The overcrowding at Green Hill suggests that efforts to find options have failed and it might have been wise to keep Naselle open after all.

At his press conference, Inslee stated the obvious: His Stafford Creek proposal cannot solve the entire long-term problem of overcrowding in juvenile facilities.

But then Inslee’s arrogance came to the fore again. In response to a reporter, he denied that he regretted signing the bills passed by majority Democrats that made the so-called JR-to-25 possible.

These laws distort the definition of juvenile rehabilitation by foolishly allowing individuals up to age 25 to be housed in the same rooms as actual juveniles.

Instead, Inslee blamed the situation in Green Hill on an “avalanche of new juvenile offenders,” which he then linked to what Democrats like to call “gun violence.”

I know people are getting tired of partisanship, but it never seems to occur to Inslee that the policy decisions he and his Democratic colleagues have made are the cause of the 60 percent increase in the number of young people in… be locked up in state prisons.

Take the law created in 2023 by House Bill 1324, which provided for purely partisan votes in the House and Senate. Basically, it means that any crimes committed by an adult as a juvenile no longer count if that adult is convicted of all but the most serious murder and sexual offenses.

With this deterrent no longer in place, it is no wonder that the number of crimes among young people is increasing, and adults also seem to be attracting more children to commit crimes. For example, Seattle police recently arrested an 11-year-old – that’s not a typo – as well as a 19-year-old and a 21-year-old. The three are suspected of committing a series of grocery store robberies.

On guns, Inslee and Democratic leaders repeatedly ignored Republican legislation to create further deterrence by increasing penalties for those convicted of firearm theft or using a stolen firearm in the commission of crimes.

Ferguson maintained as a candidate that he was serious about restoring public safety. If so, we will re-introduce our bills and he can help pass them.

Ferguson will also be able to hire a new DCYF director. His decision will hopefully be influenced by knowledge of how Inslee’s election played out.

But let’s get back to Green Hill. Although Inslee referred to the teenage residents as “little children,” he continued to support the flawed ideology that places them on the same level as chronological adults.

Countless Washingtonians died before lawmakers admitted that the social experiment of decriminalizing hard drugs was a mistake. I am not aware that the JR to 25 experiment cost literally anyone their lives, but it caused serious harm to many while hindering actual rehabilitation.

Senate Republicans have three priorities: public safety, affordability and improving the lives of Washington’s children. The situation with Green Hill and youth rehabilitation in general meets all of these criteria.

The young people who enter the youth rehabilitation system because of their choices deserve a second chance to put their lives on a productive path. You don’t deserve to be the victim of another failed social experiment.

Regardless of what happens with Inslee’s proposal to create more space and reduce crowding in Green Hill, overhauling the JR-to-25 policy should be a top priority for the new year’s legislative session. This is how we make our state better.

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Sen. John Braun of Centralia serves the 20th Legislative District, which spans parts of four counties from Yelm to Vancouver. In 2020, he became Senate Republican leader.