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A MOTION acknowledging receipt of an independent monitoring report on the confinement of juveniles in county detention facilities as required by the 2025 Annual Budget Ordinance, Ordinance 19861, Section 54, Proviso P3.
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WHEREAS, in October 2017, Columbia Legal Services brought a class action lawsuit against King County for an alleged policy and practice of holding juveniles in long-term solitary confinement, including without access to learning materials, at the Regional Justice Center, and
WHEREAS, in 2018, King County resolved the lawsuit through a negotiated settlement in which the county agreed to ban the solitary confinement of juveniles in all King County detention facilities except in very limited circumstances and to end the practice of housing juveniles in adult detention facilities. Further, the county agreed to provide self-monitoring reports to Columbia Legal Services until 2021 on a quarterly basis to ensure compliance with the terms, and
WHEREAS, in December 2017, King County enacted Ordinance 18637, Sections 2 through 4 of which were codified as K.C.C. chapter 2.65, banning the use of solitary confinement for juveniles, no matter what language is used to describe that confinement, at all King County detention locations. K.C.C. 2.65.020 provides only one exception to the ban: "when based on the juvenile's behavior, solitary confinement is necessary to prevent imminent and significant physical harm to the juvenile detained or to others and less restrictive alternatives were unsuccessful." The chapter prohibits the use of solitary confinement for disciplinary or punishment purposes. Further, K.C.C. 2.65.030 states the policy that solitary confinement be used "only rarely," and
WHEREAS, independent monitors have reviewed King County's compliance with K.C.C. chapter 2.65 each year from 2018 to 2024. The monitor's reports included information about how often the county uses solitary confinement for juveniles in detention, the circum...
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