By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Last week, the King County Executive Office was awarded $450,000 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) under the “Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success” initiative. This funding, according to County officials, will bolster Executive Dow Constantine’s commitment to developing evidence-based, community alternatives to secure youth detention.
“Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success initiative is aiming to assist communities in planning, strategy, and assessing efforts to create a community-based continuum of prevention and intervention services,” says Celia Jackson, King County Criminal Legal System Transformation Director.
Although the funds have not been disbursed to the organizations yet, Eddie Purpose, founder and Executive Director of Progress Pushers, a nonprofit, community-led organization in King County, remains dedicated to enhancing services for young people. Purpose believes addressing the underlying issues, particularly unaddressed trauma, is key to helping youth.
“We address unaddressed trauma by connecting them to mentors who understand and support them through love. We also provide positive activities to offset negativity, such as fun trips and community event participation. We give them something positive to be part of!” said Purpose.
Jackson believes that there has been a binary in this conversation, the system must be punitive and thus will cause harm but ultimately, we are challenging that binary to say that accountability and public safety can happen outside of the traditional punitive carceral approach that we see in our country.
Jackson believes that people usually see this issue in two ways: either the system has to punish people and cause harm, or nothing will work. But she also believes that we can have accountability and keep people safe without using the harsh punishments that are common in our country.
“We are aiming to unwind generations of systemic racism by transforming the criminal legal system, enhancing public safety, and ensuring that everyone feels safe in their home and their community,” says Jackson.
According to Jackson, the newly awarded grant is not a pilot project itself, but rather a planning process, as it will support the initial planning and implementation phase that is aimed at the future plight of our community.
“This is very much the planning process, and in doing this work we are hoping to prevent youth from entering the juvenile legal system at all as a main priority, and if they do enter the system, we would like to divert them from further involvement later in life and equip them with skills for productive, safe, and thriving lives moving forward,” says Jackson.
Jackson says the planning process is expected to continue through the end of this year and potentially into early next year. Once the vision is clear, the implementation plans will be developed, along with a budget and operational strategy.
The Continuum of Care framework supports a network of services and opportunities to foster positive youth development, prioritizing community safety and effective program outcomes, such as the Care & Closure initiative, which centers on youth care and connection. Jackson emphasized the focus on racial equity and advancing pro-equity policies, noting that Black youth are disproportionately represented in detention centers.
“Youth of color, specifically Black youth, are overrepresented in our detention center, detention centers across the country, and all elements of our legal system,” said Jackson.
Progress Pushers serves youth and young adults ages 12-24, focusing on Black and Brown youth most impacted by the judicial, penal, and educational school-to-prison pipeline.
“We work with the young people whom society, at large, has given up on,” said Purpose.
This new investment leverages decades of evidence-based learning to prevent youth from entering or deepening their involvement in the juvenile justice system.
“We know that when kids are arrested, they are exponentially more likely to be engaged in the legal system as adults. If we can have an intervention that pivots to healthier outcomes, we can meet the kids where they are and help address them that way,” said Jackson.
Executive Constantine echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of community-based alternatives.
“We are committed to interrupting the cycles of violence that plague our communities and using proven solutions to get kids on track, rather than relying solely on old, costly, and ineffective tools. This award underscores that it is possible to expand community-based alternatives that keep people safe, hold youth accountable for the harm they have caused, and help them heal as they grow, creating better outcomes for our young people and safer communities for everyone,” said Constantine.
The continuum of care approach is community-driven, applying local insights and addressing youth needs through mentoring, after-school programs, and other prosocial activities to change the negative trajectory of youth.
“We’re building relationships and bonding with young people in ways that other systems and entities are not. This, in turn, allows us to be more effective because they see the consistency and love that we show. In our groups, we engage with them on various topics that aren’t being addressed at home, school, or with one another, such as vices and values, the importance of forgiveness, generational curses, and goals,” said Purpose.
Personal experiences drive Purpose and Jackson’s dedication to keeping youth out of the criminal justice system.
“This grant is important to me because I was once in their shoes and didn’t have too many positive figures and mentors who truly understood my plight. It’s important to me because I believe in their greatness even when they sometimes don’t or can’t. It’s important to me because why wouldn’t it be? We’re either part of the solution or we are the problem!” said Purpose.
“I am a Black gay woman who has had family members impacted by the legal system, and I have seen the impact that the legal system has had particularly on the Black community,” says Jackson. “The harm done by separating someone from their community and removing their dignity creates lasting cycles of harm, and we must do better.”