As part of his Eagle Scout project, 17-year-old Forrest recently hosted a school supply drive to support youth at Echo Glen Children’s Center. Knowing that he wanted his project to benefit young people, Forrest reached out to Echo Glen to find out their needs and then rallied his troop and family to collect donations.
Longtime DCYF volunteer Becky Schoen recently donated $10,000 to Echo Glen Children’s Center to support therapeutic programs for youth in our care.
In May 2021, Aaron Toleafoa, a bright young adult residing at Green Hill School, testified before Congress on the juvenile justice pipeline and the road back to integration.
As we move forward as an agency eliminating racial disproportionalities and advancing racial equity, it’s important to continue supporting the voices of BIPOC youth and acknowledge their history as an embedded part of our community every day of the year.
The residents of Green Hill School (GHS) have launched their first formal peer-to-peer mentoring program. The M.A.D.E. Men Peer Mentoring program puts making a difference every day (M.A.D.E.) at the center of its mission. The goal of the program is to support struggling residents who could benefit from peer support.
One of the many benefits of youth placement in least restrictive community facilities is the opportunity to receive education and
vocational training in the community, sometimes
As part of our Juvenile Rehabilitation (JR) continuum of care, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) aims to provide comprehensive and community-based services to support eligible youth as they transition back into their communities. Young people start their residential sentences with JR in an institution.
With the ongoing restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, youth in DCYF’s Juvenile Rehabilitation community facilities have been quietly plugging away at their education, earning their degrees, participating in community service, and doing as much as they can to stay active.
In December 2020, 11 young men from Oakridge Community Facility celebrated their graduation from the Manufacturing Academy (MA), a 12-week pre-apprenticeship for Juvenile Rehabilitation (JR) youth who reside in less restrictive community facilities.
Passed in 2018, House Bill 6160 (also referred to as JR to 25) allows young people sentenced in adult court for crimes committed under age 18 to go to Juvenile Rehabilitation (JR) until age 25. Before the bill, JR residents had to transfer to the Department of Corrections on their 21st birthday to serve the rest of their sentence.