Barón issues statement on youth jail vote

July 24, 2024

King County Councilmember Jorge L. Barón on Wednesday released the following statement after the Law & Justice Committee advanced without a recommendation a motion regarding the Council’s position on the Executive’s Care and Closure initiative regarding the Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center:

“As Chair of the Law and Justice Committee and as a Councilmember, I believe it is my responsibility to create opportunities for discussion, even at the risk of an outcome that doesn’t align with my position. Discussions regarding the future of the Clark Children and Family Justice Center (CCFJC) have been led largely by the King County Executive and the Council has not yet taken an official position. The motion before us today was an opportunity to capture the will of this committee. Today, the two amendments put forward both failed and the committee voted to advance the proposal without recommendation to the Full Council for continued work.

“As many public commenters shared, we cannot continue doing the same thing and expect different results. There is compelling evidence that our current system causes harm to youth and is very likely hindering our public safety goals. While I recognize the current system’s need for secure detention, it is inappropriate for us to reject a process that may identify better alternatives, which I believe the motion as written does. Even as a policy statement without the weight of law, I am concerned that this indicates our indefinite support of a system that is not adequately meeting the goals of community safety we would all like to see. My vote today to advance this motion is not a signal of my support for the indefinite use of secure detention for youth as it exists today, but reflects my support for full council consideration of this issue.

“I appreciate the over 100 people who provided public comment and the over 1,000 individuals who emailed in to provide their input, many of whom support efforts to close the facility. I encourage community members to continue to engage in conversations on creating more restorative and trauma-informed approaches to accountability. I will continue working with my colleagues to clarify the message that this proposal sends: with the hopeful resolution of recognizing the current need for secure detention while affirming the work to identify alternatives and reduce the need for the incarceration of young people.”