Dembowski: Mayor Harrell’s order on Children and Family Justice Center “Right Choice”

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell
County Councilmember Rod Dembowski

On Friday, King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski joined Mayor of Seattle Bruce Harrell, to support his executive order relating to the King County Children and Family Justice Center (CFJC).

Councilmember Dembowski and Mayor Harrell jointly raised their concerns about the proposed CFJC in January of this year.

That prompted the County to seek the advice of Dr. Eric Trupin, Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Director of the Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy at the University of Washington, on whether the current CFJC design reflects best practices.

Dr. Trupin led a group of experts in a review of the proposed CFJC.

That review identified significant deficiencies with the current proposal in terms of its treatment of justice-involved youth and the CFJC’s relationship to the County Youth Action Plan’s call to end the school-to-prison pipeline.

The report calls for significant redesigning of the CFJC.

“I am proud to stand with Mayor Harrell today and support this executive order,” said Dembowski. 

“Here in Martin Luther King Jr. County, the time is always right to do what is right. Dr. Trupin’s report confirms our view that the currently proposed CFJC falls short on King County’s goal to work toward Zero Youth Detention.

“I look forward to partnering with the community, City, and my colleagues at King County, to implement a science-based restorative justice approach to reduce youth incarceration and serve King County’s children and youth. I will introduce legislation to require that King County follow the recommendations in Dr. Trupin’s report, including the proposed design changes to the CFJC.”

Dr. Trupin's report here