The King County Council’s Law and Justice Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved advancing legislation to the full Council declaring the intent of the Council to maintain operations of the youth detention facility at the Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center. The motion was advanced without recommendation. Law and Justice Committee vice chair Claudia Balducci released the following statement:

“From my time as the director of the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD) and now as a King County Councilmember, I steadfastly believe our goals should be to reduce crime, protect the public and support our young people in achieving successful lives.

“During the three years I served as DAJD director, I successfully advocated to construct a replacement for the old, inhumane and unsafe youth detention facility as part of the new project to build the Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center. Today, the facility is holding 61 young people on charges including murder, manslaughter, rape, child molestation and other serious violent crimes. It is clear that we continue to have a need for detention. At the same time, our County has long been committed to the success of our young people to keep them out of detention.

“I believe we should do everything we can to intervene with at-risk youth early to prevent crime in the first place, including providing strong community supports, mental health services, early childhood education, and limiting access to firearms. We have adopted a number of major initiatives to meet the needs of youth and families in our communities, including programs funded by levies such as Best Starts for Kids; Mental Illness and Drug Dependency; Veterans, Seniors and Human Services; Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Act (funding education); and more. We are also deeply committed to reducing the dramatic racial disparities that persist in our juvenile justice system.

“And yet, some young people in our county commit serious crimes and cause great harm. As the Seattle Times reported yesterday, prosecutors are seeing an alarming increase in the number of young murder suspects in 2024.

“In short, we need a ‘yes AND’ approach – we need to support King County’s youth with robust programs and services to improve outcomes and we also need secure detention for youth in crisis or who have harmed others and pose a threat to public safety.

“I look forward to the continued discussion and deliberation as this legislation advances to the full Council.”