Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice

Governor Jay Inslee issued Executive Order 20-02 to re-establish the Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice as the State Advisory Group effective August 28, 2020.  Executive Order 20-02, which supersedes previous Executive Order 15-03, to include requirements per Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 (Act) reauthorized and substantially amended the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (as Amended Through P.L. 115-385, enacted December 21, 2018).  The executive order also recognizes the Department of Children, Youth, and Families as the State Designated Agency and the Office of Juvenile Justice as the administrative office for grant management, compliance monitoring, and other staffing functions.

The Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice (WA-PCJJ) plays a strong proactive role providing collaborative leadership and direction, and recommends innovative juvenile justice reforms and best practices for implementation.  The WA-PCJJ and the Office of Juvenile Justice collaborate with the Washington State Center for Court Research for comprehensive juvenile justice data analysis and key findings, and a biennial Juvenile Justice Report to the Governor and the Legislature.   This collaboration resulted in the analysis of youth risk, needs, detention use, racial and ethnic disparities, and service engagement that facilitate goals setting as well as policy and program recommendations.

Based on the analysis and recommendations, the WA-PCJJ structures its working subcommittees and set priorities to focus on system improvement innovations and integration of racial and ethnic disparities reduction practices across the juvenile justice system.  The WA-PCJJ directs federal Title II fund aims at increasing alternatives to incarceration and adolescent support services, improving successful reentry, and safeguarding the well-being of our youth while in state custody.  Funding priorities include:

(a)  Community-based culturally responsive prevention and intervention solutions as alternatives to arrests and detention,

(b) Culturally relevant, trauma-informed, evidence-based adolescent program expansion and supportive services,

(c)  Strategies and practices to improve and increase access to transitional support services, continuity of care, and community-based wraparound services for youth and young adults reentering to their home communities after state custody,

(d)  Strategies and practices to reduce the youth of color involved at each level of the justice system,

(e)  Effective monitoring of jails, lock-ups, detention facilities, and correctional facilities to ensure the compliance of core requirements in accordance with the JJDP Act.