[0:04] Afternoon and welcome to the
[0:06] JUNE 10th meeting of the
[0:07] Regional Policy Committee. To
[0:08] manage today
[0:08] s meeting, I
[0:08] d
[0:10] like to ask only the committee
[0:12] members and the scheduled
[0:14] presenters. Join us on the zoom
[0:15] platform. We
[0:15] ll start the
[0:16] meeting by having the clerk
[0:26] call the roll. Angelica.
[0:31] Angelica, can you hear me?
[0:33] Sorry. Can I. Am now working?
[0:35] Can you hear me?
[0:37] Now we can.
[0:40] Okay. Council Member Arnold.
[0:43] MAY your back is. Here. MAY
[0:50] your pallone. Council member
[0:53] Robinson. MAY your round.
[1:06] Here.
[1:10] Angelica.
[1:11] Chair von Reichbauer. I can
[1:13] take over for Angelica.
[1:14] I think you should.
[1:16] Yes. Thank you. Uh, Mayor
[1:19] Rebello. Council member.
[1:22] Juarez. Council member. Lynn.
[1:25] Council member. Foster. Council
[1:28] member rank. Councilmember
[1:29] Baron.
[1:30] Here.
[1:34] Councilmember. Perry. Chair.
[1:35] Von Reichbauer.
[1:37] Here. Well, I want to thank
[1:38] you, everyone, for attending
[1:39] today
[1:40] s regional policy
[1:41] Committee. We have a short
[1:42] agenda today that includes a
[1:44] briefing from the executive
[1:45] staff on the implementation
[1:47] status of the King County Youth
[1:48] Diversion and Intervention
[1:49] Program. We
[1:50] ve made today
[1:50] s
[1:52] meeting shorter than usual, so
[1:54] that many of you can attend the
[1:57] state of the County address of
[1:58] the county executive.
[1:59] Do you need me to do the roll
[2:00] call?
[2:00] We
[2:01] re fine. We
[2:02] re fine. Thank
[2:05] you. And, uh, and we
[2:05] re going
[2:07] to have an opportunity tonight
[2:09] to have the county executive
[2:11] give a address in South King
[2:13] County at the Performance Arts
[2:15] Center. At this time. Going to
[2:16] our today
[2:16] s briefing, we
[2:17] re
[2:18] joined by Jen Tanaka and
[2:20] Jennifer Hill, who are the
[2:22] acting director and acting
[2:24] deputy director, respectively,
[2:26] of dcfs children, youth and
[2:28] Young Adults Division. Acting
[2:29] director Tanaka and Acting
[2:31] Director Hill are going to
[2:32] provide the committee with an
[2:34] update on the implementation
[2:35] status of the King County Youth
[2:37] Diversion and Intervention
[2:38] Program. Thank you both for
[2:42] being here. Go ahead and begin.
[2:44] Thank you. Chair. Uh, and
[2:45] thanks for the invitation and
[2:47] the opportunity to present to
[2:50] the committee. Um, as
[2:52] requested, we are here to give
[2:54] a brief overview and leave time
[2:56] for questions on the King
[2:57] County Youth Diversion and
[2:59] Intervention Program. And my
[3:01] colleague Jennifer, um, we
[3:01] re
[3:03] both named Jennifer. I go by
[3:04] Jen. She goes by Jennifer. Just
[3:04] because we
[3:05] re often in the same
[3:06] meetings, and it makes it a
[3:07] little easier. But if you call
[3:08] either one of us those, uh, we
[3:11] will respond. Um, so we thought
[3:13] we would just give a brief
[3:16] overview. Um, as background,
[3:18] you MAY recall and MAY be aware
[3:21] that in 2020, the King County
[3:22] Department of Public Defense
[3:24] and the prosecutor, prosecuting
[3:24] Attorney
[3:26] s office proposed,
[3:27] together with community
[3:28] organizations, Restorative
[3:30] Community Pathways in 2020. Um,
[3:31] this was added to the King
[3:36] County budget in 2021. The 2122
[3:39] budget and through an rfp
[3:41] process and implementation
[3:43] planning services were launched
[3:47] in NOVEMBER of 2021. Um, and
[3:48] this is a community based
[3:50] diversion program that really
[3:53] looked to work with young
[3:55] people under the age of 18 who
[3:57] were referred from the
[3:59] prosecuting attorney
[4:00] s office
[4:02] to the program and to have a
[4:04] community navigators and
[4:05] community organizations which
[4:06] worked directly with those
[4:07] referred youth and what was new
[4:08] to the program at the time,
[4:09] also was serving community
[4:12] members who experienced harm.
[4:15] And um, and so that was new to
[4:17] previous diversion initiatives
[4:18] as well. So there are just some
[4:20] of the core services which are
[4:22] provided in the program as, as
[4:24] background and then bringing
[4:27] you up to speed in 2025. Um,
[4:28] um, sorry. Can you go back one
[4:31] more slide, Jennifer. Um, so as
[4:32] the program was running, we
[4:33] ve
[4:35] given a number of reports to
[4:36] council. Um, I don
[4:36] t think
[4:36] we
[4:37] ve actually presented here,
[4:39] if I recall correctly, but a
[4:40] number of of reports and
[4:42] updates on the data. But in
[4:44] 2025, the King County Executive
[4:45] actually put forth changes as
[4:48] part of the budget process. Um,
[4:50] to and renaming and re
[4:52] relaunching the program as the
[4:53] King County Youth Diversion and
[4:54] Intervention Program. So that
[4:54] s
[4:55] that
[4:56] s the context where we are
[4:57] now as part of the budget
[4:59] process at the end of the year.
[5:02] And in APRIL earlier this year,
[5:04] we have with the executive
[5:07] transmitted a report which sort
[5:08] of talks about that, the
[5:10] transition plan as well as the
[5:11] design and the future King
[5:13] County, um, Youth Diversion and
[5:14] Intervention program. So that
[5:16] has not yet been heard and
[5:17] discussed in council, but
[5:18] you
[5:19] re getting a preview here
[5:21] as well as this ongoing
[5:22] process, um, with the council.
[5:23] So it
[5:23] s a great opportunity to
[5:25] kind of get insights into it
[5:26] and happy to answer any
[5:29] questions. And then just to
[5:30] kind of recap what we
[5:30] re
[5:33] looking at as part of our
[5:34] restorative community pathways.
[5:38] Um, a total of 522 young people
[5:41] have been served, 290 and um,
[5:46] in 2025 exited um, and of those,
[5:51] 223 or 77% completed rcp
[5:53] programming. So this is just
[5:54] some of the data which we have
[5:56] reported on over the years. And
[5:57] remember, we
[5:57] re looking at the
[5:58] young people being served,
[6:00] referred from the prosecuting
[6:00] attorney
[6:01] s office, as well as
[6:02] community members who
[6:05] experienced harm. And the data
[6:06] there looks at the number of
[6:07] students who have exited, those
[6:07] who
[6:08] ve completed the
[6:10] programming. So still, one
[6:11] thing I do like to remind folks
[6:13] is that these are youth. So
[6:15] under the age of 18, um, who
[6:18] are in a in an incident and an
[6:20] alleged incident, misdemeanors.
[6:22] And so the average age of the
[6:23] young people being served is,
[6:27] is, is currently 15 or 15.5.
[6:29] And if we look at the community
[6:29] members who
[6:30] ve experienced
[6:31] harm, right. So those get
[6:32] referred together to the
[6:34] program and someone reaches out
[6:37] and looks at an accountability
[6:38] or a restorative justice
[6:40] process, or whether or not that
[6:42] individual needs services and
[6:44] supports and the average age of
[6:45] those community members is
[6:51] 18.8. Um, this is just a little
[6:53] bit on the, um, program.
[6:55] Participants in their
[6:58] geographic distribution list,
[7:00] that being our top five zip
[7:02] codes served in Auburn, Federal
[7:04] Way in Kent. Um, but you see,
[7:08] we have, um, participants
[7:09] ranging from shoreline past
[7:11] North Bend, Vashon Island and
[7:16] to green water. Okay, so, um,
[7:18] what is the King County? That
[7:18] s
[7:19] sort of the background. Just to
[7:21] understand that as we are
[7:22] currently right now in the
[7:24] process of transitioning from
[7:25] restoring community pathways to
[7:26] the King County Youth Diversion
[7:28] and Intervention Program, um,
[7:30] there are some elements that
[7:33] still remain the same in the
[7:35] sense of this being a pre
[7:37] filing, community based
[7:38] diversion program for youth
[7:42] under the age of 18 referred
[7:44] from law enforcement to the
[7:45] prosecuting attorney
[7:45] s office
[7:47] and then to the program. Um,
[7:48] and these young people have
[7:51] alleged misdemeanors. So as a
[7:53] community based diversion
[7:55] initiative or program, we
[7:55] re
[7:56] working with contracted
[7:59] community organizations that
[8:00] will be working, that will
[8:01] providing support to those
[8:03] young people that referred um
[8:05] or and family members, as well
[8:07] as any community member who
[8:08] experienced harm in the
[8:10] incident and responding to
[8:13] their needs. Um, as well as,
[8:15] um, sorry, just have something
[8:17] dinging here. Uh, responding to
[8:17] the community members to
[8:19] respond to the to the needs of
[8:20] both the youth and the
[8:21] community members who
[8:24] experienced harm. And then just
[8:26] briefly or an overview, you
[8:28] know, the long term, the long
[8:31] term is really how do we, um,
[8:33] how do we and what we have to
[8:34] learn is how do we intervene
[8:35] early on? Young people who have
[8:36] been identified through an
[8:38] incident referral through the
[8:39] prosecuting attorney
[8:41] s office.
[8:44] Um, um, to identify, to provide
[8:45] that support, to provide an
[8:48] opportunity for meaningful, non
[8:49] punitive accountability for the
[8:51] alleged misdemeanor, and also
[8:52] connect to needed services.
[8:52] We
[8:54] ve had a lot of data and
[8:55] evaluation report that talked
[8:58] about the key role of basic
[9:00] needs for many of the young
[9:02] people, housing security or
[9:04] housing stability. Clothes,
[9:05] food, connection to behavioral
[9:06] behavioral health services. So
[9:08] a lot of what that navigator
[9:09] does is understand is this
[9:11] young person in crisis and
[9:11] what
[9:12] s the level of their
[9:13] needs. Um, and so and those
[9:14] vary depending on the
[9:18] individual being referred. I
[9:22] think we can move on. Um, so as
[9:25] laid out in our plan, um, what
[9:28] changes with the King County
[9:28] youth Diversion and
[9:30] Intervention program? One of
[9:31] the biggest changes that we
[9:31] re
[9:33] making is we have the role of
[9:35] the referral administrator and
[9:37] the consortium coordination
[9:38] used to sit in a community
[9:40] organization. So the pa would
[9:41] refer directly to a referral
[9:42] administrator who sat in a
[9:43] community organization. We
[9:44] ve
[9:45] actually brought that in-house
[9:46] to dhs. S and I
[9:46] ll talk a
[9:48] little bit about that later.
[9:50] But that way. So we are working
[9:52] directly with the prosecuting
[9:52] attorney
[9:54] s office. Um, and they
[9:57] will refer that case or that
[9:59] that young person and the
[10:00] associated community member
[10:00] who
[10:02] s experienced hard to dhs.
[10:03] And we
[10:04] ve sort of been we
[10:05] ve
[10:06] changed up a little bit. The
[10:07] triaging that happens at that
[10:09] referral administration before,
[10:11] uh, that understanding, that
[10:12] case, contacting that young
[10:14] person and then referring them
[10:16] to the community organization
[10:17] which best meets their needs,
[10:19] that could be geographic, uh,
[10:21] cultural or, um, or other in
[10:22] terms of their, their
[10:23] programming that can really
[10:25] best serve that young person.
[10:28] Uh, we are launching a new rfp
[10:30] to re procure the community
[10:32] based services. So this looks
[10:33] at new organizations will be
[10:36] applying to this, um, to
[10:38] provide services within case
[10:42] id, um, and within that rfp, we
[10:45] have outlined enhanced data
[10:46] collection, which we
[10:46] re
[10:49] planning for this the launch of
[10:51] of Cassidy, especially around
[10:53] school and and education
[10:55] engagement. Um, a lot of the
[10:58] cases, um, or incidents that
[11:00] are coming to us, those
[11:01] misdemeanors of of the of these
[11:05] children and youth are, um,
[11:07] originating from schools can
[11:08] think of it as maybe a school
[11:11] fight. Um, and that and so, um,
[11:13] at this age especially. Right,
[11:13] they
[11:14] re all under 18. They
[11:15] should all be in school. It was
[11:17] like where, uh, we
[11:17] re going to
[11:19] do more. Also, understanding
[11:22] the, um, the, the status of
[11:23] their school, what support they
[11:25] might need to get back in
[11:26] school or find alternative
[11:29] education pathways. Um, but
[11:30] just staying engaged in
[11:32] education. Um, among other
[11:33] things, which I will be
[11:34] presenting on later. Um, as
[11:37] well, we believe that having a
[11:41] closer role in managing, uh,
[11:44] the triaging and administration
[11:46] referral process that will also
[11:47] allow us to make faster
[11:50] connections within dhs services
[11:51] and county services so that we
[11:53] can, um, bridge a little bit
[11:55] the the services and
[11:56] connections and partners that
[11:58] we hold within dhs to actually
[12:00] meet the needs of the young
[12:02] people. Um, and community
[12:03] members being referred to the
[12:05] program. Um, we
[12:06] re adding a
[12:07] school liaison position to
[12:10] support, um, to really add
[12:12] support to work with community
[12:15] partners, work with youth to,
[12:17] to focus on, uh, getting back
[12:18] into school, staying in school
[12:20] and being successful in school.
[12:23] So that adds that capacity. Um,
[12:25] previously, the Youth and
[12:27] Family Fund, which is you can
[12:27] look at that as sort of the
[12:30] basic needs fund to provide
[12:31] support was, was, um,
[12:33] centralized. And then it was
[12:34] coordinated within that. We
[12:35] were just decentralizing that
[12:36] and including that within the
[12:38] contracts of each of the future
[12:40] partners, as well as the youth
[12:41] steering committee. If you knew
[12:43] about the program before, um,
[12:45] went, um, which operated for a
[12:46] little bit during the beginning
[12:47] of the program, but really
[12:47] wasn
[12:48] t operating by middle and
[12:51] the end of of our cp in the in
[12:53] the previous years. We do
[12:54] believe in the importance of
[12:56] youth agency as a, as a good
[12:58] practice. Um, and see that as a
[13:00] role for um informing
[13:02] continuous quality improvement
[13:05] in the programming. All right.
[13:08] So the rcp, uh, the I mean, so
[13:10] the rfp, the request for
[13:12] proposals is, uh, is still
[13:14] live. Uh, we really encourage
[13:16] you to share this with your
[13:18] constituents and partner
[13:20] organizations in your areas.
[13:22] Um, a application is still open
[13:25] until JULY 15th. Um, at 2 P.M..
[13:28] Um, the. And this is, um, this
[13:31] process right now. So, um, as
[13:32] sort of again, we
[13:33] ve brought in
[13:34] sort of, sort of some of that
[13:37] referral administration and
[13:38] other team members to hold part
[13:41] of the work now in dhs. We have
[13:43] launched the rfp to identify
[13:44] the partners and confirm the
[13:46] partners for Cassidy going
[13:48] forward. We will have this
[13:49] transition and working closely
[13:51] with organizations that don
[13:51] t
[13:52] continue to provide the
[13:54] continuity of care this year as
[13:56] we work towards the final
[13:57] selection and the contracting
[13:59] process and the actual full
[14:01] transition to Cassidy, by the
[14:07] beginning of 2027. Uh, just
[14:08] really I think this might come
[14:10] from the presentation to to
[14:12] potential applicants. Again,
[14:14] the rfp focus is really looking
[14:15] at those organizations which
[14:17] can provide that navigation,
[14:19] that support the programming
[14:20] for the youth referred and
[14:24] their families. Um, and so
[14:25] again, if you look, if we think
[14:27] about this program, you have an
[14:27] we
[14:28] re having an incident that
[14:28] s
[14:29] happening somewhere in school
[14:32] or elsewhere. It, um, lands
[14:33] with the police. The police,
[14:34] since the prosecuting
[14:34] attorney
[14:36] s office. Um, and then
[14:37] they, at their discretion, will
[14:40] be referring, um, relevant and
[14:45] eligible youth to the program.
[14:47] Again, core services are just
[14:49] sort of listed out here. Um,
[14:54] these are all also, um, um, we
[14:55] had an evaluation of the
[14:57] program and see a lot of these
[15:00] aspects around basic needs. The
[15:02] importance of, um, conflict
[15:04] resolution and accountability,
[15:05] the importance of education and
[15:07] those support services. I want
[15:08] to say peer connection,
[15:09] mentorship. If you think of a
[15:10] young person in your life who
[15:13] might be 12, 13, 14, 16 years
[15:15] old and those peer connections
[15:17] and those positive, um,
[15:18] learning and safe, safe spaces,
[15:21] safe spaces are all part of of
[15:23] the programming which have, um,
[15:26] contributed to, um, both
[15:28] positive outcomes for those
[15:29] young people in their own youth
[15:32] development, um, as well as
[15:33] contributing factors towards
[15:35] prevention and longer term
[15:36] legal system involvement. And
[15:38] so these are the core services
[15:39] which are part of the rfp,
[15:40] which the organizations would
[15:46] be providing. And then we have,
[15:49] um, also explicitly stated
[15:52] within the rfp, the intended
[15:55] reporting, uh, data and
[15:57] outcomes. And so here we just
[15:59] look at, uh, really
[16:00] understanding numbers of youth
[16:02] served. Right. Caseload. Some
[16:04] of the, um, demographics which
[16:05] we often collect. And then
[16:06] we
[16:06] re, we
[16:10] re, um. Um,
[16:12] completion status. And when we
[16:13] talked about program completion
[16:14] earlier, we look at, you know,
[16:16] really having the data on did
[16:17] they complete partially
[16:18] complete withdrawal or
[16:20] terminated and why? Um, to
[16:21] understand their programming
[16:24] level of programming engagement.
[16:30] Here we have other thing, other
[16:33] aspects around, um, and this
[16:34] helps us understand, you know,
[16:36] what are the services that that
[16:38] are being provided? We do. We
[16:38] didn
[16:39] t collect this at such a
[16:40] deep level, but it was really
[16:42] important for us to understand.
[16:44] We know, you know, I think it
[16:45] was I don
[16:45] t know, I
[16:46] ll have to
[16:47] get the exact exact data, but
[16:50] it was very high percentages of
[16:52] young people in the program
[16:54] needed basic needs, aspects of
[16:56] basic needs. But I think that
[16:57] this, um, in our intention is
[16:59] really understanding what are
[17:00] the needs and what are the
[17:01] services being accessed by the
[17:04] young people in the program?
[17:06] Um, the navigator will work
[17:06] with a young person, and I
[17:07] think, you know, that might
[17:09] that will differ. If the person
[17:11] is 17. Right. Getting ready to
[17:12] to hopefully graduate from high
[17:13] school or if or if the young
[17:15] person is 12, their action
[17:16] plans might look differently.
[17:18] Their discussion around
[17:19] consequences or accountability
[17:20] might look differently at
[17:22] different and their needs. But
[17:22] that
[17:23] s really the
[17:24] individualized sort of
[17:26] wraparound support that that we
[17:28] seek to provide with our
[17:30] partners. Um, this but
[17:32] understanding really, um, the
[17:33] services also helps us
[17:35] understand the situation that
[17:37] these young people are in and
[17:40] why often, um, often some of
[17:41] the reasons why they
[17:42] re in this
[17:43] program to begin with. And
[17:44] that
[17:44] s sort of part of
[17:47] understanding cause is not
[17:49] just, um, not just the impacts,
[17:50] but actually some of the causes
[17:52] of, of, of behaviors that which
[17:53] MAY lead to being referred to,
[17:59] to this program. Um, I think we
[18:02] want to look so here we look at
[18:03] the outcomes of sort of the
[18:04] immediate outcomes and longer
[18:08] term outcomes around, um, lower
[18:09] rates of referral. Many of
[18:10] these will be collecting
[18:12] ourselves, others, our
[18:13] continued work in partnership
[18:14] with the prosecuting attorney
[18:14] s
[18:16] office and other relevant
[18:17] institutions longer. But
[18:20] really, uh, looking at
[18:21] referrals, looking at school
[18:22] engagement as a big indicator
[18:25] for young people under the age
[18:28] of 18, um, as well as some of
[18:30] the longer term outcomes. I
[18:32] think this is important. And we
[18:34] included this in the rfp that,
[18:34] you know, this isn
[18:35] t just about
[18:37] the shorter term incomes, but
[18:38] really we want to look at this
[18:43] as part of our our approach to,
[18:47] um, to reducing, identifying,
[18:50] um, supporting and reducing,
[18:52] um, future legal system
[18:53] involvement of these young
[18:54] people. And I think of many of
[18:57] the programs that we do is this
[18:58] is a way for us. I kind of look
[19:01] at it as an early
[19:03] identification or early
[19:05] detection. Is this a young
[19:07] person in crisis? If you
[19:07] re at
[19:09] the age of 12 or 13, being
[19:11] referred to by law enforcement,
[19:13] to the prosecuting attorney
[19:13] s
[19:15] office, and are their root
[19:17] causes of homelessness,
[19:20] poverty, mental health needs,
[19:21] behavioral, you know, mental
[19:23] and behavioral health needs.
[19:26] Um, that we can provide the
[19:27] support to, to support that
[19:31] young person, um, to, uh, to
[19:33] overcome barriers, to be
[19:35] successful in school and to
[19:37] hopefully, um, not be involved
[19:39] in, in the legal system in the
[19:44] future. Uh, a little bit of our
[19:45] team. So Jennifer Hill is the
[19:47] one running the slide deck for
[19:47] me. And Jennifer has been
[19:49] working in County for decades,
[19:51] and in our education and
[19:53] employment resource team within
[19:55] dhs, so brings a wealth of
[19:56] knowledge and connection. And
[19:57] working with especially
[19:59] opportunity youth who have been
[20:00] out of school and out of work
[20:03] in 16 to 24, but not only, um,
[20:06] of the slide, um, um, Claudia,
[20:07] I just want to point out Jen
[20:09] has been with us with rcp, so
[20:09] she
[20:10] s transitioning and has
[20:13] been, um, um, understanding and
[20:14] and managing the program, um,
[20:16] since the beginning, almost.
[20:18] Um. Um, Claudia, we
[20:18] re really
[20:20] excited. Is our new referral
[20:22] administrator, uh, really
[20:23] excited to have her on board.
[20:24] Um, it
[20:28] s part of our 2627
[20:29] budget to sort of staff up our
[20:31] team. And she brings excellent
[20:33] experience working with, um,
[20:34] youth with legal system
[20:35] involvement in restorative
[20:37] justice and facilitation. And
[20:39] so she is able to have
[20:41] conversations. Um, you know,
[20:44] before referring and with young
[20:45] people and families. And so
[20:45] we
[20:47] re really, really excited to
[20:48] have her on the team. Um,
[20:49] Sumeet is also very, very new
[20:51] within our team. And that that
[20:53] adds contract manager is the
[20:55] importance of our, um, our work
[20:57] managing effectively the
[21:00] contracts. Um, and including,
[21:03] um, reporting. Um, and so that
[21:04] Ian and Sumeet together can
[21:05] support some of the
[21:07] coordination role that we
[21:07] re
[21:11] taking on in case. And then
[21:12] just briefly, I want to also
[21:13] take the opportunity to shout
[21:16] out, um, Leah and Vanessa from
[21:18] our evaluation team within dhs.
[21:20] Leah has been doing the job,
[21:22] um, during rcp as other duties
[21:24] as assigned. I don
[21:24] t know, we
[21:25] might all have that in our job
[21:27] description. Um, and so part of
[21:29] our efforts to actually bring
[21:31] on a full time senior
[21:33] evaluator, um, with Vanessa. So
[21:33] we
[21:34] re sort of going through
[21:35] some transition right now. Leah
[21:37] has done a fantastic job. Um,
[21:39] along with what has not been
[21:40] the focus of her work, but it
[21:40] s
[21:42] been a lot of her time. Um, and
[21:43] so we
[21:45] re very excited that, um,
[21:46] Doctor Vanessa also comes to
[21:48] our team bringing very
[21:50] practical experience in mixed
[21:52] methods evaluation, uh,
[21:54] restorative justice youth. And
[21:55] so we feel really, really
[21:57] excited about the opportunity
[21:59] to continue to, um, learn and
[22:02] refine and and improve. Um,
[22:04] Cassidy, as we, as we work with
[22:06] this and then, um, some of our
[22:07] other team members. Um, Shelby
[22:09] oversees our, our evaluation
[22:10] for the entire children, youth
[22:11] and young adults division. Um,
[22:13] and we have our support in the
[22:19] rfp process. Nikki. And that
[22:21] was all I had for the
[22:22] presentation.
[22:23] Jen, thank you very much.
[22:25] Before we take questions, I
[22:27] want to make sure Angelica
[22:29] noticed that, uh, Mayor Pavone
[22:30] and Councilmember Robinson have
[22:31] joined us.
[22:32] Thank you. Yeah, I do have
[22:34] them. Thank you.
[22:34] Thank you very much. Thanks for
[22:36] Angelica. And thank you for
[22:37] your presentation and for
[22:39] introducing your staff and the
[22:40] the team you have built around
[22:42] you. I know my colleagues pay a
[22:43] lot of attention to this issue.
[22:46] Uh uh, my, uh, George Barron
[22:48] has been a leader in the
[22:49] private sector. And on this
[22:51] issue as well. Uh, any
[22:52] questions from my colleagues at
[22:55] this time? Just feel free to
[22:57] speak up or raise your hand.
[22:57] I
[23:04] ll try to catch it. Okay. I
[23:07] think your report was all
[23:07] right.
[23:10] MR. Chair, you MAY not be able
[23:12] to see it on the screen, but,
[23:14] uh, Council Arnold and
[23:16] Councilmember Baron also have
[23:18] their hand up. In addition to
[23:18] me.
[23:19] I could not see it. Thank you
[23:21] for asking. Uh. Thank you. Do
[23:22] you want to speak first?
[23:25] Thank you, MR. Chair. And, Jen,
[23:28] thank you for the presentation.
[23:30] And thank you for the
[23:32] thoughtful ways that, uh, there
[23:36] have been some changes being
[23:38] reflected in this. I do have a
[23:41] few questions, though. Um,
[23:42] Mister chair, do you mind if I
[23:43] ask them all, or do you want me
[23:45] to ask one? Okay. Thank you. So
[23:48] the first one on your 2025
[23:49] total youth and community
[23:53] members served, 522. Youth
[23:57] served 290. Exited services. So
[24:00] that leaves 232. Should we
[24:02] assume that they are still
[24:04] receiving services or we don
[24:04] t
[24:07] have status for them?
[24:10] Yep. Um, they you can assume
[24:10] that they
[24:11] re still receiving
[24:13] receiving services. The average
[24:16] time of service is nine months.
[24:20] Okay. And so could that also
[24:22] include some? Because I know
[24:25] before if there were some youth
[24:28] that had kind of fallen through
[24:30] the cracks at one of the
[24:31] organizations and the
[24:32] prosecutor
[24:33] s office wasn
[24:33] t
[24:35] following because they had
[24:38] referred them to one of the,
[24:42] uh, one of the community
[24:45] organizations. There was no
[24:47] there was no idea, really, of
[24:49] what had occurred, what was
[24:50] what the status were of some of
[24:52] the young people. So I
[24:52] m just
[24:54] wanting to make sure that
[24:58] moving forward, we know what
[24:59] the status is of those youth.
[25:01] Like. Has it been six months
[25:04] since a check in? Um, are we
[25:05] trying to get back in touch
[25:06] with them? Because I think
[25:06] that
[25:08] s critical, obviously, to
[25:11] the success. So wanting to
[25:18] point that out. Um, also. So
[25:22] with the rfp and I, I
[25:24] appreciate that as well. But
[25:26] given that I have two of the
[25:30] most impacted zip codes, has
[25:33] there been any end and all five
[25:34] of them are in South King
[25:37] County? Has there been any
[25:40] outreach to South King County?
[25:45] Uh, for this rfp or to work
[25:48] with us to ensure the success
[25:53] moving forward?
[25:54] Jennifer, do you want to speak
[25:57] a little bit to the outreach?
[26:01] Yeah. So we have been sharing
[26:04] the rfp with as many community
[26:06] providers and community
[26:08] organizations that we can get
[26:10] in front of, including the
[26:12] South King County Council. Um,
[26:14] Alliance for Human Services.
[26:17] Um, and making sure I mean, we
[26:18] would love for you all to also
[26:20] share that with any providers
[26:22] that you have. Um, we
[26:23] re doing
[26:26] a bitters conference tomorrow,
[26:28] and have still a month left
[26:30] before the rfp is due. So want
[26:32] to just make sure that that is
[26:34] out in the community as much as
[26:35] possible?
[26:37] Yes. And mayor Mayor Baucus, we
[26:39] would welcome any, any venue or
[26:41] any additional outreach that we
[26:42] can do together with you. We
[26:44] would absolutely welcome that.
[26:46] That was really my point is.
[26:47] Where we
[26:47] re we
[26:48] re happy to do
[26:48] that.
[26:50] There has been, to the best of
[26:51] my knowledge, there has been no
[26:54] outreach to government, to
[26:58] government in this. Um, my
[26:59] fellow mayors, Mayor Pavone,
[27:02] Mayor Ralph and Mayor Farrell,
[27:04] um, three of three of us are on
[27:06] our pc. Uh, Mayor Farrell is
[27:09] not. But, uh, as you
[27:09] re
[27:10] probably aware, we were very
[27:13] vocal when we first started.
[27:15] Uh, and very critical. I don
[27:15] t
[27:17] want to be critical. I want to
[27:19] be able to shout the successes
[27:22] of this program from the roof
[27:25] of of of City Hall and be able
[27:29] to celebrate them. I just don
[27:29] t
[27:30] want us to get off on the wrong
[27:34] foot. Uh, of not having open
[27:38] communication. So I would think
[27:40] that there would be there would
[27:43] have been or could be outreach
[27:43] to the mayor
[27:44] s in South King
[27:45] County, since we are the most
[27:49] impacted zip codes. And then.
[27:52] I hear you, I hear you, and I,
[27:53] I look forward to connecting
[27:54] after this meeting.
[27:56] Great. Thank you. And then just
[27:59] wanting to make sure
[28:01] accountability as, uh, as we
[28:04] have stated in the past, is
[28:07] critical to this. Um, and there
[28:09] were concerns in the past about
[28:11] not knowing the status of the
[28:13] young people involved. Uh, had
[28:14] they fallen through the cracks,
[28:17] was there any outreach at all?
[28:18] So just wanting to make sure
[28:20] that there is that
[28:23] accountability. And then in the
[28:25] reporting data, I don
[28:25] t know
[28:26] that I saw anything about
[28:28] recidivism rates. That was one
[28:30] of the things that we were
[28:32] asking for for data in the past
[28:34] in South King County, along
[28:36] with the items that are listed
[28:38] in your presentation. But I
[28:38] didn
[28:39] t see anything about
[28:41] recidivism rates. And I would I
[28:42] would think that that would be
[28:44] a really good measure for us to
[28:48] be able to tout successes on.
[28:52] It is, um, it does take time to
[28:53] be able to understand and and
[28:54] understand whether a young
[28:56] person it is absolutely
[28:58] critical for us to work
[28:59] together with the now in the
[29:01] future and to continue. We want
[29:03] to understand the impact and
[29:04] whether this program works like
[29:04] we
[29:06] re like, right? Like we we
[29:07] know that the young people are
[29:08] benefiting from the services
[29:09] and we want to know, does it
[29:11] have the impact in terms of
[29:12] legal system reduction, legal
[29:13] system involvement? And it
[29:13] s
[29:14] going to take time, and we
[29:14] re
[29:15] going to need the resources and
[29:17] the time to be able to follow
[29:19] that. Um, so it just wasn
[29:19] t
[29:20] there in terms of we will not
[29:22] within the rfp, within the
[29:24] start of 2027 to 2020, you
[29:26] know, the at the end of 2027.
[29:30] Um, be know the be able to, um,
[29:33] define and and um, evaluate
[29:36] recidivism. And I absolutely
[29:38] agree and we understand. And in
[29:39] order for us to understand the
[29:40] efficacy of this program, we
[29:41] actually will need to do that
[29:42] over time, because that
[29:43] s all
[29:44] of our interest. Right? We want
[29:45] to know, is it working? Is it
[29:46] working? I mean, that
[29:47] s that
[29:47] s
[29:47] what we
[29:49] re here for. And if and
[29:49] it
[29:50] s really about understanding
[29:52] the strategy and the and the
[29:54] programming and is it having
[29:56] the impact that we, that we,
[29:58] that we want it to. So yeah.
[30:01] Okay. Thank you. So so youth
[30:02] that were involved prior to
[30:05] 2025, are we collecting any
[30:07] data on them or are we just
[30:11] moving forward from 2025.
[30:12] Sorry. Yes we have been
[30:14] collecting. Oh, so we have we
[30:17] have um, and maybe the pow pow.
[30:19] You MAY maybe want to stick to
[30:21] this. We have been. We are not
[30:23] right now doing a new
[30:25] recidivism study. There was a
[30:26] report issued by the
[30:27] prosecuting attorney
[30:27] s office
[30:29] last year. Um, and then we had
[30:31] our program evaluation. The
[30:33] recidivism was not part of that
[30:35] program evaluation. Um, last
[30:37] year, uh, the pow did their,
[30:40] uh, did their study. Um, and I,
[30:40] we haven
[30:41] t gotten to the point
[30:43] of what is the recidivism, uh,
[30:45] longer term recidivism
[30:47] evaluation for the programming.
[30:49] But we we want that to we want
[30:51] that, too, because that tells
[30:52] us, is it working or not?
[30:53] Thank you. Thank you, MR.
[30:54] Chair.
[30:56] Thank you. Councilmember
[30:57] Verona. Then Councilmember
[31:00] Arnold, I think Councilmember.
[31:01] Arnold had his hand at first,
[31:02] so I
[31:03] ll defer to him if he
[31:06] wants to go next.
[31:09] Thank you. Councilmember Baron.
[31:10] Um, just building on what Mayor
[31:12] Bacchus is talking about. The
[31:14] the metrics that you mentioned
[31:16] on slide 16 and the outcomes
[31:17] you mentioned on slide 18 are
[31:21] really important for both
[31:22] celebrating the success of this
[31:24] program and the the idea of
[31:26] continual improvement. Um, how
[31:30] for those metrics, how often
[31:32] are they reported? Do you have
[31:33] a dashboard or anything like
[31:35] that that we get to see, um,
[31:38] the status of the program?
[31:42] Yep. We have been reporting on
[31:46] a quarterly. So every
[31:50] contracted organization uploads
[31:53] data on a quarterly basis. And
[31:55] we do have our. Can you remind
[31:56] me if we have the rcp on the
[31:58] dashboard and the data reports.
[31:59] Right. I think we did that last
[32:03] year as part of the diversion
[32:04] dashboard.
[32:05] Yeah, they
[32:06] re all on the
[32:06] county
[32:09] s website. We can share
[32:10] a link. And the county also
[32:12] does have a legal system
[32:13] dashboard that
[32:14] s on the county
[32:16] public facing website.
[32:16] Yeah, that
[32:18] d be great. Great to
[32:20] look those and especially
[32:23] understand for, um, people that
[32:25] exited the program without
[32:26] completing the program. One of
[32:27] the reasons. So we can address
[32:29] those. And then again, to back
[32:32] at this point the um,
[32:34] recidivism rates, um, over
[32:35] time, we, we get that
[32:37] information for our community
[32:38] courts. It would be great to
[32:39] have information for the youth
[32:42] as well, or for this diversion.
[32:45] Thank you.
[32:47] Councilmember Baron.
[32:48] Thank you. Chair, I appreciate
[32:50] the questions. Uh, thanks to
[32:52] the dhs team for the
[32:55] presentation. Um, I wanted to
[32:57] ask, uh, two questions, and
[32:57] I
[32:59] ll just lay them both out.
[33:01] Um, and then for, for folks to
[33:03] respond. The first is, uh,
[33:04] could you give us a sense of
[33:05] the status of, like, the
[33:08] current program and kind of the
[33:09] transition plan a little bit? I
[33:11] think this is related to to
[33:11] Mayor Rebecca
[33:12] s question, like,
[33:14] what are we going to. So, so I
[33:15] understand the rfp is is issued
[33:17] right now. Uh, the program is
[33:19] operating, I think, under rcp
[33:23] in 26. And what type of
[33:25] transition the contracts are
[33:27] going to start in 27. Can you
[33:27] talk a little bit about the
[33:29] transition??? What happened to
[33:29] the youth who are in the
[33:31] program? How is that transition
[33:32] going to be managed? And then
[33:33] my second question, I
[33:35] appreciated the questions that
[33:36] have been asked by both
[33:37] Councilmember Arnold and Mayor
[33:40] Backus on the recidivism. Um, I
[33:41] did see that there was
[33:41] reference. There
[33:42] s a report
[33:43] that I that actually dhs
[33:44] prepared for the council, which
[33:46] is public, um, that, that that
[33:47] MAY be of interest to, to
[33:49] members of the committee. Uh,
[33:50] it does talk about lower rates
[33:52] of new referrals or arrests.
[33:53] And I know the presentation
[33:54] there was a reference about,
[33:57] you know, uh, uh, that one of
[33:58] the outcomes that we want to
[34:00] see is, uh, less involvement in
[34:02] the future. Uh, but I just want
[34:03] to understand, like, who
[34:03] s
[34:04] going to be doing that analysis
[34:05] because I think one of the
[34:07] questions that I think, Jen, I
[34:08] think you mentioned the the
[34:09] there was the I think the
[34:11] impact justice report last
[34:13] fall, and then there was the pa
[34:14] had a report and we were
[34:15] getting kind of like different
[34:17] sets of numbers. And people are
[34:18] like looking at things
[34:20] differently. And I guess I
[34:22] would just both comment and say
[34:22] it
[34:23] d be really good. As we
[34:25] launch this new version of this
[34:27] program or this new program,
[34:29] this new initiative, to really
[34:31] think through ahead of time,
[34:32] like what? How are we going to
[34:33] tracking? What are we, what are
[34:34] we, what are we consider
[34:35] recidivism, right. Like what is
[34:36] the time period we
[34:36] re going to
[34:38] be looking back on? And I guess
[34:39] I would just say I also
[34:41] encourage people to for us to
[34:43] have this been kind of like an
[34:45] ongoing effort. Uh, and I the
[34:46] question that Councilmember
[34:47] Arnold mentioned about
[34:50] reporting, you know, because I
[34:51] realize that for recidivism,
[34:52] like we need some track record,
[34:53] it takes time to get developed.
[34:55] I get that point. But I also
[34:56] want to make sure that we
[34:56] re
[34:58] collecting the information in a,
[35:01] in a consistent way, and that
[35:03] we all kind of have some
[35:04] agreement on what those what
[35:05] those metrics are going to be,
[35:06] rather than trying to figure
[35:07] out at the back end, which
[35:08] might make it complicated to
[35:10] actually track that data. So I
[35:10] know that
[35:12] s a lot, but I just
[35:13] want to lay it all out so that
[35:13] you don
[35:14] t hear from me again.
[35:18] Thank you.
[35:20] Yes. Thank you. Um, let me
[35:21] speak a little bit to the
[35:23] transition. And then, Jennifer,
[35:24] if you want to add in, if I
[35:24] m
[35:26] missing anything, uh, the first
[35:28] word that came to my mind when
[35:29] you were asking me, I was like,
[35:29] we
[35:30] re kind of hybrid right now
[35:31] because we are we
[35:32] ve we
[35:33] ve we
[35:34] have brought in-house the
[35:38] referral administration. Um, so
[35:38] that
[35:39] s sort of changed a little
[35:40] bit. The operations, uh,
[35:41] working directly with that
[35:44] towards, um, in, in, in, um,
[35:46] you know, getting the, um,
[35:48] referrals, understanding those,
[35:50] having that conversation, our,
[35:51] our staff member has that
[35:52] conversation and then they get
[35:53] referred. So that
[35:54] s already a
[35:56] little bit of in between.
[35:56] Right. It
[35:57] s a little bit it
[35:57] s a
[36:00] little bit different. Um, and
[36:02] then we have planned and and
[36:02] it, it, it, it
[36:03] s a little bit
[36:06] better laid out in the report
[36:10] this um, um, over overlapping
[36:11] of time so that rcp
[36:13] organizations will continue.
[36:15] Um, and we have, I think, 1 to
[36:18] 3 months of overlap with Csea
[36:19] selected organizations so that
[36:21] we can actually look at the
[36:23] warm handoff. So that was one
[36:25] of, um, the large concerns,
[36:25] like we don
[36:26] t want to we don
[36:27] t
[36:29] want to disrupt services for a
[36:31] young person. And so being
[36:32] really thoughtful in terms of
[36:32] how we we don
[36:33] t know whether
[36:34] there might be some
[36:35] organizations that continue and
[36:36] whether there
[36:36] s newer. We
[36:37] already know that there likely
[36:38] will be some organizations
[36:39] because the landscape is
[36:41] changing, um, all the time in
[36:43] terms of organizations
[36:45] continuing and discontinuing.
[36:47] So, um, the landscape will
[36:47] change. There
[36:49] s there are some
[36:50] organizations which MAY be
[36:51] continuing and there
[36:51] s likely
[36:53] be new ones. And so we have to
[36:55] work together and, and very
[36:56] intentionally, um, it
[36:57] s great
[36:59] that we have the program team
[37:00] as well as the referral
[37:01] administrator who has been
[37:03] developing relationships, you
[37:05] know, with the current
[37:06] organization so that we can
[37:07] understand. And it can also
[37:08] look at how we
[37:09] re referring
[37:11] young people, as we understand
[37:12] through the rfp process, who
[37:14] has selected. So, um, I hope
[37:15] that answers your question in
[37:17] terms of the transition we
[37:21] have, I think almost 100. Um,
[37:23] is it 90? Almost nearly 90
[37:24] referrals in the first quarter
[37:28] of 2026? Um, so, uh,
[37:30] programming and referrals and
[37:31] services are continuing this
[37:33] year with current partners and
[37:35] what our, what our work and
[37:36] does through relationships,
[37:37] through timing and through
[37:39] planning is to really ensure a
[37:42] seamless transition from rcp to
[37:45] kc. And so we actually have
[37:49] overlapping, um, overlapping
[37:50] periods of service so that we
[37:54] can actually avoid gaps where a
[37:55] young person can get could get
[37:58] lost right in that or get um,
[38:00] um, disrupted service during
[38:03] that time. And then, um, I
[38:03] m
[38:04] really glad. Stephanie, thank
[38:05] you so much for joining us from
[38:06] the prosecuting attorney
[38:06] s
[38:07] office. I think that
[38:08] s part of
[38:09] our charge ahead. And we
[38:10] re
[38:10] we
[38:12] ve, uh, remaining close
[38:13] collaboration, and we
[38:13] re
[38:16] excited, um, to continue this
[38:17] work together in our
[38:19] communication and how to see
[38:21] the improvements and changes in
[38:22] case I think it
[38:22] s a common
[38:24] interest of ours to also
[38:26] understand how this is working.
[38:28] And, um, finding that way
[38:41] together, it will be important.
[38:42] My message something.
[38:45] Oh, Chair von Reichbauer. Uh,
[38:46] Mayor Ralph has her hand up,
[38:48] and then I have follow up
[38:48] questions.
[38:51] Okay. Mayor Ralph, thank you.
[38:53] Thank you, MR. Chair. Um, thank
[38:55] you for the presentation. I,
[38:55] um, I
[38:57] ve got a couple of things
[38:57] that I
[38:58] m maybe just not
[39:00] tracking, and so I want
[39:00] hopefully you can get some
[39:04] clarity. So the the referral
[39:06] portion is moving out of what
[39:08] has historically been sort of
[39:09] that, that community based
[39:12] consortium and into internal to
[39:15] King County is is there a
[39:20] reboot of of rcp itself and
[39:21] under a new name, or is it
[39:22] going to continue sort of the
[39:23] same philosophy? I mean, some
[39:24] of the places that I
[39:24] m
[39:26] thinking, um, you have the
[39:29] slide about the 522 youth
[39:31] served, 2290 exited.
[39:32] Historically, we
[39:33] ve been told
[39:34] that if there
[39:35] s any contact at
[39:37] all that qualifies the youth as
[39:38] having been served, but then
[39:38] there
[39:40] s not a tracking of sort
[39:42] of of completion. And I think
[39:43] that lends itself to the
[39:45] questions that you heard from,
[39:46] from mayor back as of what are
[39:49] what are we counting as served?
[39:50] What does completion mean?
[39:52] There were a lot of things
[39:54] historically that I think we
[39:56] had questions around. Um, and
[39:56] I
[39:59] m not I just need to better,
[40:01] I guess, understand what what
[40:02] this looks like going forward.
[40:04] Because we I think we did feel
[40:05] like there were a lot of gaps,
[40:07] just contact with the youth did
[40:10] not in a lot of our minds mean
[40:11] that there was any sort of
[40:12] restorative services offered.
[40:16] And then and there was no, um,
[40:18] there was no requirement. So if
[40:20] they chose to make contact or
[40:22] make contact one time, then
[40:23] then that qualified them as
[40:25] having completed a program. So
[40:27] trying to figure out sort of is
[40:29] is this the same thing? Just
[40:29] we
[40:30] re calling it something
[40:31] different or are we looking at
[40:33] it in a different in a
[40:34] different way with a different
[40:37] philosophy?
[40:37] Uh, that
[40:39] s a great question.
[40:43] Um, I just want to say that I
[40:44] think it was Councilmember
[40:45] Burrell that we should be
[40:46] having more of these
[40:47] conversations, because I think
[40:48] there was a lot of improvements
[40:50] over time, from the beginning
[40:52] of the program to last year.
[40:54] Um, and getting this set up, as
[40:56] you said, in terms of defining
[40:57] program completion, like in the
[40:58] very beginning, I don
[40:58] t think
[41:00] we collected data on program
[41:01] start date, program end date,
[41:02] and what happened in between.
[41:03] Right. But that was has
[41:05] actually been added. So program
[41:07] completion is some of the data
[41:07] that
[41:09] s already being collected
[41:11] in terms of starting services
[41:13] provided and ending and
[41:15] completing meaning like that
[41:15] s
[41:15] a that
[41:18] s a um, uh, you
[41:18] ve
[41:20] completed your plan and your,
[41:21] you
[41:21] ve, your, you
[41:22] re exiting
[41:23] with a completion rather than
[41:24] exiting like just sort of
[41:28] stopped attending meetings or,
[41:30] um, exited without completion,
[41:30] completion of services. So
[41:32] there have been improvements in
[41:34] that. Um, and they will
[41:36] continue to be and actually we
[41:37] have more data in terms of the
[41:40] types of services being
[41:41] provided that we that we will
[41:44] be collecting. So, um, a lot of
[41:47] the early years and the start
[41:50] of, of the system, as we as we
[41:52] started that up in 2022 and
[41:55] 2023, but by 2024 and 2025, we
[41:57] did make a lot of adjustments
[42:00] in terms of understanding and
[42:01] collecting the data that you
[42:03] would see now more recently in
[42:07] those reports, um, it is the
[42:11] the restorative community
[42:13] pathways is concluding its
[42:16] contracts in this year and from
[42:17] 2027, it
[42:18] s the King County
[42:19] Youth Diversion and
[42:20] Intervention Program. Um, yes.
[42:22] So the referral administrator
[42:23] who was sitting in the
[42:25] community is now actually
[42:27] sitting in dhs, is a member of
[42:29] my team and is working closely
[42:31] with Stephanie within the pow
[42:31] and working with those
[42:33] referrals. And so one of the
[42:34] things that we actually changed
[42:37] up is that those conversations
[42:39] with the first contact is
[42:40] actually being handled by our
[42:42] team to actually understand
[42:42] that young person
[42:44] s situation,
[42:46] what is it? And even if they
[42:46] don
[42:47] t accept services, that
[42:47] s a
[42:48] great opportunity still for
[42:49] understanding, for
[42:50] accountability. You know, in
[42:51] our and I
[42:52] m really excited that
[42:53] our program manager, our
[42:54] referral administrator actually
[42:56] has this, this expertise to
[42:57] understand the consequence. You
[42:58] know, you can still have a
[42:59] conversation around
[43:00] consequences of actions and
[43:01] understand if you if you don
[43:02] t,
[43:02] even if you don
[43:04] t need, um,
[43:06] urgency, emergent or urgent
[43:07] housing assistance or
[43:09] behavioral health services. And
[43:11] so that triaging which when I
[43:12] explain sort of happening in
[43:14] the county is an opportunity
[43:16] for us to better understand
[43:17] that young person as they get
[43:20] referred and to work with the
[43:21] collection of the data. And I
[43:23] would just add that I think
[43:25] this is the opportunity to add.
[43:25] i didn
[43:26] t want to put in too
[43:27] much, but I think it
[43:27] s a great
[43:29] opportunity for us. Like you
[43:30] were saying, Mayor Baucus. And
[43:30] if we
[43:31] re looking at where these
[43:32] young people are coming from
[43:33] and if a lot of these are
[43:35] coming from schools like my
[43:36] dream beyond this program is
[43:37] like, can we actually get
[43:39] capacity into those schools and
[43:41] to support the schools if to
[43:44] with, um, increased capacity to
[43:45] work with the young people on
[43:47] this does not even get to refer
[43:48] to the police and to the
[43:48] prosecuting attorney
[43:49] s office,
[43:49] then we
[43:50] re really going to like
[43:51] the cause, because I know
[43:52] schools have a lot on their
[43:54] plates and their own capacity
[43:56] to deal to, to work with
[43:58] conflicts or crises that young
[43:58] people might be having in
[43:59] their, in their school sites.
[44:02] And so, um, I think part of my
[44:03] dream is to is, is that having
[44:05] access to this data and
[44:06] understand the time and effort
[44:07] to be able to understand that
[44:08] and understand a little bit
[44:10] more, uh, the young people that
[44:10] we
[44:10] re getting, where they
[44:10] re
[44:11] coming from. And can we
[44:12] actually go to the source in
[44:14] the future and look at how we
[44:15] might partner to provide
[44:16] additional resources to
[44:17] actually just not even get them
[44:18] referred to the pa in the
[44:20] future? That would be that
[44:22] would be sort of my next step,
[44:24] where I would love to see us
[44:26] grow if possible, with with
[44:28] this initiative. I hope Mayor
[44:29] Ralph, that that explained. But
[44:30] but if you want additional
[44:31] clarification, I
[44:31] m really
[44:31] happy. I don
[44:32] t know if if I
[44:34] know we answered your question.
[44:36] That was helpful. MR. Chair,
[44:37] can I ask a follow up?
[44:38] Absolutely.
[44:41] Um, so one of the things, Jen,
[44:43] that you noted is that you so
[44:43] you
[44:43] re making that first
[44:47] contact. And if if the youth
[44:49] makes the decision to, to
[44:53] receive service previously that
[44:54] was a decision. And if they
[44:55] didn
[44:57] t, then there was no next
[45:00] step. So in in this new model,
[45:02] are they then being referred
[45:06] back to the Pao for follow ups
[45:07] like they they chose to not
[45:09] seek restorative services. So
[45:12] so then there will be that uh,
[45:13] that more legal path. Or are we
[45:15] just saying we gave it a shot
[45:19] and they chose not to this time.
[45:22] Yeah. So if we I think that
[45:23] stays the same. And correct me
[45:24] if I
[45:25] m wrong, Stephanie, if we
[45:25] have a young person, let
[45:26] s say,
[45:27] for example, that we can
[45:27] t
[45:29] contact or that refuses to have
[45:30] the conversation or accept
[45:32] services, those that gets
[45:34] reported back to the to the
[45:34] prosecutor
[45:35] s prosecuting
[45:35] attorney
[45:36] s office. I think
[45:38] within 90 days. I think, if I
[45:41] recall correctly, yes. Right.
[45:44] Yes, yes. So those individuals
[45:45] get referred back. And I guess
[45:46] what I meant in terms of length
[45:49] of services, uh, we have young
[45:51] person who really that might be
[45:53] around the accountability piece
[45:54] and a discussion with that. And
[45:55] we have other young people who
[45:59] might need, um, who might not
[46:00] who might not be going to
[46:03] school or who might have, um,
[46:03] um, we
[46:06] ve had um, uh, might
[46:08] need, uh, referrals to, uh,
[46:09] mental health or behavioral
[46:11] health services. Right. Or are
[46:12] we understand that their
[46:14] families are actually in, uh,
[46:16] housing? Housing is a big we
[46:17] have navigators saying, can you
[46:18] help us with our, you know, our
[46:20] housing, our housing
[46:22] instability and that, you know,
[46:23] that that still remains. So
[46:25] when we see those overlaps and
[46:27] where you look into, um, nine
[46:29] months is a long, you know, is
[46:30] a is a significant and that
[46:31] s
[46:32] an average, right. So nine
[46:34] months of a young person. And I
[46:35] think when we think about
[46:36] children and we think about
[46:38] young people and things like
[46:40] positive peer connection and
[46:41] social connection, it seems
[46:43] like a simple indicator. But
[46:44] when you think about your child
[46:45] or your or someone in your life
[46:46] and you think that they
[46:46] re
[46:48] isolated or their peer
[46:49] influences, maybe, uh,
[46:52] contributing to poor decisions
[46:54] or school might not feel like a
[46:56] safe place. They might be, uh,
[46:57] truant. All of those things are
[46:58] the things that we think
[46:59] around. Service plans and
[47:00] action plans is how do we
[47:01] support that young person to be
[47:04] successful? Um, in getting
[47:06] education, if they can, for
[47:07] example, back in school or
[47:09] through our own sites where we
[47:10] work, we provide ged high
[47:12] school and post-secondary and
[47:14] education employment as an
[47:15] alternative learning option.
[47:17] Um, but those are the kinds of
[47:17] things when you think about the
[47:19] service plans and what that
[47:21] young person might need to to
[47:23] be successful and to fulfill
[47:24] their own plan. So that
[47:24] s
[47:24] that
[47:25] s sort of that discussion.
[47:26] And sometimes if it
[47:27] s a
[47:27] shoplifting and there
[47:28] s really
[47:29] no other issue that might be,
[47:29] that
[47:30] s a sort of an
[47:31] accountability conversation.
[47:31] And if it
[47:32] s if it
[47:34] s, um, those
[47:37] more serious, uh, barriers and
[47:38] concerns, then that
[47:38] s a longer
[47:39] that
[47:40] s a longer plan.
[47:42] A follow up, Mayor Roff.
[47:44] No, thank you.
[47:45] Mayor Bacchus, I
[47:46] d like to get
[47:47] Councilmember Robinson, who
[47:47] hasn
[47:48] t? Yes. First,
[47:50] Councilmember Robinson.
[47:51] Oh, thank you, I I
[47:52] m on light
[47:53] rail, so I hope it
[47:53] s not too
[47:55] loud. Um, you can
[47:56] t listen to
[47:57] this without hoping that we
[47:57] re
[47:59] putting as much energy and
[48:01] funding into prevention. Just
[48:03] like what Jen talked about. I
[48:04] would love to see this program
[48:07] with a phase, a second phase
[48:11] of, um, a plan to get more
[48:12] funding for prevention as well
[48:14] as this so that we can work in
[48:15] tandem. I think it
[48:16] s just it
[48:16] s
[48:18] got to be the big picture. But
[48:18] that
[48:23] s my only comment. Thanks.
[48:26] During any comment?
[48:29] Um, yes, I thank you very much.
[48:30] I think it
[48:31] s, uh, I would
[48:33] completely agree. I think it
[48:35] is, um, in early prevention or
[48:39] an early intervention. Um,
[48:42] program. And if it helps us to
[48:44] identify, um, young people that
[48:46] are in need of, of services and
[48:47] supports. And so I think it
[48:48] s,
[48:48] there
[48:49] s great potential and
[48:50] opportunity to continue to
[48:51] build off this program. Like I
[48:53] said, how do we actually
[48:54] understand look at have the
[48:56] data to understand potential
[48:58] trends? Um, and get those
[49:00] resources and the supports
[49:02] earlier on even, you know, at
[49:04] the, um, at sort of at the
[49:07] source, um, um, rather than
[49:09] having a pow pow referral, that
[49:12] would be that would be, to me,
[49:15] uh, a wise, uh, and exciting
[49:17] strategy and investment.
[49:19] Thank you. Mayor Backus. Always
[49:20] the last word.
[49:22] Yeah. Thank you, MR. Chair.
[49:25] Jen. Thank you. And I hope that
[49:26] the South King County mayors
[49:27] and you become each other
[49:28] s new
[49:31] best friends. Um, we we really
[49:33] do want to partner with you. I
[49:37] just have one more question.
[49:39] And this was something that was
[49:44] kind of nebulous in rcp is if
[49:49] if a young person does not
[49:52] follow through on the
[49:55] community, uh, community
[49:59] benefits and they do reoffend,
[50:01] do they have another
[50:04] opportunity to be part of this
[50:05] new youth diversion and
[50:07] intervention program, or have
[50:10] they already had that
[50:12] opportunity, did not follow
[50:14] through, and therefore it goes
[50:15] to the prosecutor
[50:18] s office.
[50:22] Um, Stephanie, since.
[50:22] I
[50:23] m happy to answer that. And
[50:24] Stephanie, trolling from the
[50:25] prosecutor
[50:27] s office. Um, that
[50:27] s
[50:27] kind of it
[50:27] s it
[50:28] s not a it
[50:28] s
[50:31] not a one size fits all answer
[50:33] for the most part. Most youth
[50:36] only will have one referral to
[50:38] the King County youth. Um
[50:40] diversion program, similar to
[50:43] rcp. There are there are
[50:44] instances when there are more
[50:45] than one referral. It
[50:46] s really
[50:47] um, it
[50:48] s really up to the
[50:50] discretion of the prosecutor
[50:51] reviewing the case. But I would
[50:54] say those are pretty rare. Um,
[50:58] and we do send, um, we would
[50:59] share that information
[51:01] certainly with the referring
[51:02] law enforcement agency to an
[51:04] example of when that might
[51:09] happen is to, um, shoplifting
[51:11] instances that happened like
[51:12] within a week or of each other
[51:13] where somebody is doing some
[51:15] food from Safeway, and then two
[51:16] weeks later is caught stealing
[51:17] some food again. And there
[51:17] haven
[51:18] t really been much time
[51:20] for engagement. We might think,
[51:20] well, let
[51:21] s not throw it all
[51:23] away and bring them into the
[51:24] court process yet. Let
[51:24] s like
[51:26] kind of treat those together.
[51:27] Those are the most kind of
[51:30] common scenarios. Like fairly
[51:32] what we would consider fairly
[51:34] low harm situations. There
[51:34] s
[51:35] not like a person victim or
[51:36] someone
[51:37] s been harmed and it
[51:38] just makes good sense to try
[51:40] that course at least. Um, but
[51:43] otherwise this does count as a
[51:44] diversion, if that
[51:45] s what you
[51:46] mean. And, you know, you
[51:46] re
[51:47] well aware. I know that, you
[51:48] know, first offense
[51:50] misdemeanors in this state are
[51:51] mandatory diversion. We have no
[51:53] discretion there. But once
[51:53] we
[51:55] ve sent a case, a referral
[51:57] to this community diversion
[51:59] program, it is a diversion
[52:00] program. So then then it is our
[52:01] discretion. We don
[52:02] t have to
[52:04] send the next one. So I hope
[52:06] that kind of answers it.
[52:08] That helps a great deal. Thank
[52:09] you for that explanation. And
[52:11] MISTER Chair, thank you for
[52:13] indulging me this afternoon
[52:16] with so many questions. Uh,
[52:16] it
[52:18] s clearly an important topic
[52:20] for our communities, and I just
[52:21] want to make sure that we
[52:22] re
[52:24] understanding the benefits of
[52:25] this new program.
[52:26] I think you
[52:26] ve raised also.
[52:28] A good point. As I said, I hope
[52:32] that becomes a huge success.
[52:33] I agree, and and I think you
[52:34] raised a good point about how
[52:36] much impact it has in South
[52:38] King County and how much those
[52:40] numbers reflect a growing
[52:42] problem. And hopefully
[52:43] collectively, we can work
[52:45] together. I hope to see many of
[52:47] you tonight at the state of the
[52:49] County address at the pac. Uh,
[52:51] thank you all for being here.