2 WA youth rehabilitation facilities stop admissions due to overcrowding

OLYMPIA, Washington. – Two youth rehabilitation facilities in Washington are stopping accepting new offenders due to overcrowding, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) announced.

Echo Glen Children’s Center in Snoqualmie and Green Hill School in Chehalis will not accept any more youth until they return to “safe and sustainable capacity levels,” which could take months.

DCYF says Echo Glen and Green Hill are experiencing increasing population densities that are jeopardizing the safety of both staff and young people in the facilities.

“Having too many young people crammed into a small space can cause behavioral problems and limit the opportunity for therapeutic rehabilitation,” said Ross Hunter, secretary of DCYF. “This was not sustainable. Our facilities must be safe, therapeutic and functional.”

This does not mean that juvenile offenders will be released. Instead, they must remain in a county detention facility until they can be safely transferred to a juvenile rehabilitation facility.

DCYF claims that Green Hill experienced an influx of young people last year that exceeded the number of discharges each week. The population at Green Hill increased from 150 in January 2023 to 240 in June 2024, which is 30% above capacity.

The agency also states that longer prison sentences are causing population growth.

To address overcrowding, DCYF has hired additional security personnel for both facilities. DCYF is also exploring other options to address security concerns that will not result in an immediate reduction in capacity.

DCYF states that a waitlist will be maintained during the suspension to prioritize and manage admissions after the suspension is lifted.

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs released a statement Saturday calling on the state to immediately address this issue. The statement from WASPC Executive Director Steven D. Strachan said:

“Law enforcement agencies across the state have been notified by the Washington State Dept of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) that due to capacity issues, they will indefinitely suspend the reception and placement of convicted juvenile offenders, regardless of the violence or severity of their crime.

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WSAPC) is working with a DCYF request to notify law enforcement agencies across Washington of the suspension of intake. At the same time, WASPC is urging the state to immediately address this issue through any necessary executive or legislative action. Simply stopping intake of juveniles convicted through due process of law for often very violent crimes is completely unacceptable. Victims of crime need to know that offenders will remain in custody.

This situation is largely self-inflicted. The problem of overcrowding in youth rehabilitation centers has been known for some time, and not taking responsibility for the placement of offenders places the public at further risk. A reasonable emergency option that should be considered is the transfer of non-juvenile inmates (18-25 years old) from Green Hill School to the custody of the Department of Corrections for placement in adult facilities.”

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