Updated: Amid overcrowding at Green Hill in Chehalis, Inslee proposes new juvenile facility in Aberdeen

By Mitchell Roland / mitchell@chronline.com
Posted 11/25/24

The state of Washington will move forward with a plan to open a new juvenile rehabilitation facility in Aberdeen to reduce overcrowding at Green Hill School in Chehalis, Gov. Jay Inslee said during a …

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Updated: Amid overcrowding at Green Hill in Chehalis, Inslee proposes new juvenile facility in Aberdeen

Posted

The state of Washington will move forward with a plan to open a new juvenile rehabilitation facility in Aberdeen to reduce overcrowding at Green Hill School in Chehalis, Gov. Jay Inslee said during a press conference at the facility on Monday.

“We’ve decided this is the fastest route to increase capacity. We’ve determined this is the best route to increase capacity,” Inslee said.

The move comes as Inslee looks to respond to 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.”

For years, the state has struggled to address overcrowding at Green Hill and Echo Glen, a youth detention center near North Bend. Faced with an increase from 150 residents in June 2023 to 240 residents in June 2024 at Green Hill, the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCFY) temporarily paused intake into the facility earlier this year.

While the state resumed entries following legal challenges, the facility continues to operate at 30% above capacity. According to Inslee, Green Hill currently has 220 residents.

“This is not contrary to the order of the court,” Inslee said. “The court ordered folks not to go to the Department of Corrections. They are not going to the Department of Corrections. They will be going to a juvenile justice center staffed, operated, designed and maintained by Department of Children, Youth and Families. So this is going to be totally compliant with the existing injunction that the court has issued.”

As he prepares to leave office in January, Inslee will ask legislators to approve funding for a new, 48-bed facility located in an unoccupied building at Stafford Creek Correctional Facility in Aberdeen. While the facility will be located at a correctional facility, Inslee noted it would be staffed and operated entirely by DCYF staff.

“This will be a juvenile justice facility,” Inslee said.

Faced with a rising inmate population, Inslee said state officials considered almost “dozens” of potential sites, including potentially expanding the facility at Green Hill. Increasing Green Hill's capacity was determined to not be feasible.

A timeline for the new facility and an estimated cost were not immediately available, though Inslee said it would have a budgetary impact.

"This is not inexpensive," Inslee said. “When you have to provide 24/7 care and rehabilitation services, it is not cheap. But we will put it in my budget and we will make a proposal for legislators to grapple with.

According to Inslee, residents of Green Hill will have the option of transferring once the facility is operational. The facility, he said, would be compliant with the court order that returned 43 inmates back to Green Hill School this summer.

The facility will include a new "juvenile rehabilitation emerging adult leaders” program, which Inslee said would be “unique” in Washington's system.



The program would allow residents to build “leadership and peer mentorship skills before transitioning back to Green Hill where they will be able to secure a position using those skills,” according to an informational flier provided during the event.

“The program is set to open in early 2025 and will be available in the new JR facility in Aberdeen, WA, on the ground of Stafford Creek Corrections Center,” the flier states.

During the event, Inslee also highlighted some of the bright spots at Green Hill School, including an 80% reduction in assaults and a 30% reduction in recidivism among residents.

Overcrowding at Green Hill School has been cited among the reasons for a rise in crime at the facility, which have included drug possession, assault and other felony charges. As of July 23, 228 aggressive acts have occurred in state juvenile rehabilitation facilities across the state this year.

Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, and former Centralia Police Chief Stacy Denham — who is now the Chehalis city manager — have called on Inslee for a state investigation. Inslee previously noted that improvements were being made at the facility while rebuffing the request.

In August 2023, with Denham leading the Centralia Police Department as chief, the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team served a warrant at Green Hill and seized evidence they alleged was improperly stored.

On Monday, Inslee noted an increased security protocol at the facility, which includes 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.

“The administrative staff has now upgraded the ability, and we have two new machines, basically, that can detect the presence of drugs, even in abdominal cavities, when they come into this facility,” Inslee said, adding the increased screening is for visitors 18 years old and older. “There has been a significant upgrade in the security personnel when it comes to drugs.”

According to the Chehalis Police Department, the agency has arrested five Green Hill employees this year, three of which involved sexual misconduct. On Monday, Inslee said decreasing the overcrowding at Green Hill would allow the “good work that folks are doing here to go unimpeded.”

“The overcrowding has been a significant problem that has led to the problems you have alluded to,” Inslee said in response to a reporter's question about staff misconduct. “When you stuff people into a room, and they don’t have enough room, and they fight frequently, and you get gang intrusion, you’ve got problems. So, the solution to this, a significant part of that, is to reduce the overcrowding at this facility.”

Inslee also defended the decision to close Naselle Youth Camp in Pacific County, a decision made by the Legislature in 2022. When operational, the medium-security facility provided education and treatment for around 80 male offenders.

“We were having problems staffing it, it would not have made sense for this,” Inslee said of the facility.

“We think actually, even in retrospect, Stafford Creek is a better solution because of the staffing challenges that are available.”