SNOQUALMIE, Wash — The union representing staff at Echo Glen Children’s Center are calling on management to address staffing and safety concerns after seven teens escaped Sunday.
A statement from the Washington Federation of State Employees details how the teens waited in a bathroom for four hours for a member of the graveyard shift who they had previously targeted to arrive. The teens attacked the staff member, locked her in a cell and stole her car keys.
The union said the staff member suffered a concussion following the attack which was detailed in a King County courtroom Tuesday.
"She was taken by force, brutally beaten, and placed inside a cell where she is not expected to be," a prosecutor told the judge.
After locking the staff member in a cell, they stole her car and left the facility.
The union said concerns from staff, that could have stopped the breakout had they been addressed, were ignored.
“The sad part about this is, it takes these extreme events to get attention but the danger was there last week before these kids escaped,” said Mike Yestramski, President of the Washington Federation of State Employees.
According to Yestramski, the union has been asking management to address safety concerns that have led to multiple escapes and assaults.
This latest escape is the third at the facility in the last year and a half.
Last month, a petition began circulating demanding transparency regarding recruitment and retention amid dangerous staffing levels which the union said is making it unsafe for workers and residents.
“The biggest issue really comes down to having appropriate staffing levels and appropriately trained staff,” Yestramski said.
The union also cites a lack of funding and cuts to its enrichment programs such as barista and cosmetology training; programs set there to help teens with their rehabilitation.
“The folks who work at these facilities work there because they care about these kids and because they believe that they can make a difference," said Yestramski. "They're doing the best they can within a very, very broken system with very little support and resources to achieve the goals."
According to a statement from the Department of Children, Youth and Families which oversees the facility, an outside facility management team is conducting a review of the incident.
DCYF said it received $8 million in state funding in April to support necessary security upgrades including a perimeter fence. The agency said security upgrades across the facility are being implemented. DCYF noted much of the pre-design work for the fence is complete and funding for the project will be available July 1st.
The union said it raised concerns about the fence two years ago.