Youth have a better chance at positive adulthood when they don’t interact with the juvenile legal system. A public health approach means employing prevention and intervention strategies that eliminate the need for juvenile detention and promote the well-being and development of all youth. Continue reading Using a public health approach to reach zero youth detention
In February, we wrote about the 2019 Washington State legislative session bills that King County staff and partners were supporting as a part of Zero Youth Detention. One of the Road Map’s primary objectives is to align and optimize connections between systems, and this includes pushing for policy reform that improves the lives of youthContinue reading Policy updates from state legislative session
The King County Superior Court blog recently highlighted the eQuality Project. Run by the Center for Children & Youth Justice, eQuality has been helping King County Juvenile Court Services better connect court-involved LGBTQ+ youth with trauma-informed, culturally responsive support services. These efforts support our primary objective in the Road Map: to lead with equity. We’reContinue reading Culturally responsive care for LGBTQ+ youth
One of our Zero Youth Detention objectives is to focus upstream to enhance positive supports to young people to prevent youth from entering the juvenile legal system. The Latinx Youth Engagement Project, run by the Department of Community and Human Services’ (DCHS) Children and Youth Services Division, is a great example of positive community developmentContinue reading Youth engagement program provides resources and voice to Latinx students
Public Health – Seattle & King County is honored to announce that Derrick Wheeler-Smith will lead the County’s ongoing work to achieve Zero Youth Detention. Wheeler-Smith was born and raised in Seattle’s Rainier Valley. He’s dedicated his career to youth development in underserved communities, and has a track record of convening stakeholders to improve racialContinue reading Derrick Wheeler-Smith to serve as Project Director of Zero Youth Detention
We’ve added new data to the Zero Youth Detention Data Dashboard, which we launched last year to share regular data updates about the juvenile legal system in King County. In keeping with our guiding principle of transparency and accountability, this dashboard is a method for us to share progress on efforts to achieve the goalContinue reading New data available on Zero Youth Detention Data Dashboard
Zero Youth Detention supports policy reform that improves the lives of youth, children, and families and reduces legal system involvement. Policy reform falls under the Road Map’s 5th objective to align and optimize connections between systems to increase effectiveness. Right now, this means that King County staff are educating and testifying in collaboration with partners to support a number of bills being considered during the current state legislature session. Learn more…Continue reading Supporting Policy that Supports Zero Youth Detention
Family engagement in the juvenile legal system is an equity issue. While the juvenile legal system in King County is complicated for any teen and their family, it is even more complicated for families from various cultural norms, abilities, learning styles, and those whose speak a language other than English at home. Learn more about what King County is doing to improve family interactions and communication within the juvenile legal system, starting with listening to families. Continue reading Family Feedback Informs Improvements: A Series
Public Health is now accepting applications for a Communications Specialist position to serve as the department’s communications lead on Zero Youth Detention activities. Applications are due by January 14th.Continue reading Job Opportunity: Communications Specialist
We are pleased to announce that Public Health is now accepting applications for the position, Project Director, Zero Youth Detention. The Project Director leads implementation of the recently released Road Map by focusing on racial justice, developing credible relationships with communities, and organizing partnerships across legal and other systems that create lasting change.Continue reading Job Opportunity: Zero Youth Detention Project Director
