CHEHALIS, Wash. — A legal group filed an injunction last week arguing the transfer of over 40 young men from juvenile facilities to adult prisons was unlawful. The preliminary injunction was approved by a judge on Friday.
According to Columbia Legal Services (CLS), the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) moved them without due process.
Earlier this month, the DCYF announced it transferred 43 young men with adult sentences from a juvenile facility to the Department of Corrections. Everyone transferred was at least 21 years old and would have been transferred when they turned 25. The department cited overcrowding and safety concerns as reasons for the transfers.
Just one week before the announcement, the department announced it was suspending intake at two juvenile facilities, the Green Hill School and the Echo Glen Children's Center, due to overcrowding and safety concerns. According to DCYF, Green Hill was 30% above its capacity and Echo Glen was housing 236 people, when its capacity was 180.
After the transfer, the Superior Court Judges' Association wrote a letter to DCYF saying that while the overcrowding was acute, it was preventable and didn't happen overnight.
Lawyers with CLS said that due to a 2023 settlement agreement, all adult-sentenced youths are entitled to stay in a juvenile rehabilitation center until they turn 25. However, if they are being considered for a transfer before they turn 25, they are "entitled to due process, including proper advance notice, the ability to talk to an attorney, a hearing where the youth can argue their case, and an opportunity to appeal the transfer decision in court."
According to CLS, those actions were not taken. CLS said the actions are in place to protect young people and ensure their access to rehabilitation and educational services. CLS reported last week that one of the men who was transferred had been moved to solitary confinement after being assaulted by another inmate in the adult prison.
Under the preliminary injunction, the judge said DCYF could not transfer anyone else without due process and ordered the department to return all 43 young men to the Green Hill School within 14 days.
However, at a hearing scheduled for this Friday, the DCYF has the opportunity to request to change the settlement agreement or grant them an exception for the recent transfer. Until Friday's hearing, it is unknown when or if the 43 young men will return to a juvenile facility.
