A proposal to open a new juvenile rehabilitation facility in Aberdeen “feels like a last-minute effort by a lame-duck governor” Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said in a statement Tuesday.
"Opening one facility is only part of the solution. It does not address the systemic issues plaguing Green Hill, particularly the lack of staff accountability for criminal activity,” Braun said Tuesday afternoon. “Overcrowding relief alone will not rebuild integrity or improve outcomes for the young people in these facilities.”
Braun’s comments come a day after Gov. Jay Inslee visited Green Hill School in Chehalis to announce a new facility operated by the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) on the grounds of Stafford Creek Correctional Center, an adult correctional facility in Aberdeen.
While the facility will be located at a correctional facility, Inslee noted during a press conference that it would be staffed and operated entirely by DCYF employees.
“This will be a juvenile justice facility,” Inslee said.
The move comes as Inslee looks to address what he said could be described as a "juvenile crime wave” in the state, a surge he said was both “unpredicted and unpredictable.” According to Inslee, juvenile arrests are up 24% in the past year.
“We’re getting just an avalanche of new juvenile offenders,” Inslee said. “There is only one short-term solution to this, and that is additional capacity in the system to absorb this huge number of juveniles in the system.”
Faced with a rising inmate population, Inslee said state officials considered almost “dozens” of potential sites, including expanding the facility at Green Hill. Increasing Green Hill's capacity was determined to not be feasible.
"Yesterday’s announcement about a new 48-bed facility in Aberdeen offers few specifics, including how it will be funded in the short or long term,” Braun said. “While it’s encouraging that the governor may finally be acknowledging the serious flaws in our juvenile justice system — flaws exacerbated by Democrat-led policies — this move feels like a last-minute effort by a lame-duck governor, leaving the heavy lifting to his successor.”
A timeline for the new facility and an estimated cost were not immediately available, though Inslee said it would have a budgetary impact.
“The governor claims there is 'more to come,' yet his plan is troublingly silent on collaboration with Republican legislators from the districts that house both Green Hill School and the new Aberdeen facility,” Braun said. “True reform demands bipartisan cooperation and input from all stakeholders.”
For months, Braun and Inslee have sparred over Green Hill and JR to 25, legislation that allows some offenders to remain at the facility after they legally become adults.
Passed by the Legislature in 2018, JR to 25 allows those sentenced in adult court for crimes committed under 18 to serve time in juvenile rehabilitation facilities such as Green Hill until they are 25.
In a February letter to Inslee obtained by The Chronicle, Braun called for a “complete and credible investigation into the staff, policies, procedures and executive mismanagement” at Green Hill School in Chehalis.
In a Feb. 22 response to Braun, Inslee wrote that the agency had recently implemented several new safety protocols. Inslee highlighted some of the improvements Monday, which include full body scanners. The security upon entry, which also includes an X-ray machine, is very similar to the Transportation Security Administration security protocol at an airport.
In the response to Braun, Inslee wrote it was “absolutely true that House Bill 6160 (also referred to as JR to 25) and the fentanyl crisis have impacted conditions at Green Hill.” On Monday, Inslee said the “big bulk of the increased population is from increased crime by young people.”
“Instead of taking immediate action, the governor initially dismissed the problems, denied their existence and chose to belittle me, suggesting I would recognize improvement 'should I choose to become more informed,'” Braun said Tuesday. “However, investigative reporting continued to reveal the worsening reality at Green Hill, despite the governor’s defensiveness toward those raising concerns.”
This summer, the lead Republican on the state Senate committee that oversees Washington’s correctional system says he felt “blindsided” by the removal — and ordered return — of 43 inmates from Green Hill School to the Department of Corrections.
"We are tracking this issue closely. Children's safety in our state's agencies is a high priority. It is our state's responsibility to protect children in juvenile facilities," state Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick said in a July 23 statement. “The complete disregard of due process and notice is a real concern.”
The temporary measure came as DCYF Secretary Ross Hunter called the overpopulation “unsustainable,” though the move was ultimately blocked by a Thurston County judge.
According to Hunter, the population at Green Hill increased from 150 residents in 2023 to 240 residents in June 2024, which is 30% above capacity, and the facility saw considerable growth after state law allowed some minor offenders to serve their sentences at the facilities.
The facility considers 180 residents “best practice.”
Overcrowding at Green Hill School has long been cited among the reasons for a rise in crime at the facility, which have included drug possession, assault and other felony charges.
The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team served a warrant at the facility in August 2023 and seized evidence stored in lockers. According to the Chehalis Police Department, the agency has arrested five Green Hill employees this year, three of which involved sexual misconduct.
"I stand ready to work with all parties to ensure these facilities provide the intervention and rehabilitation these young men desperately need,” Braun said Tuesday. “If we want real reform, we must address the root causes of these failures and commit to meaningful bipartisan solutions."
