Juvenile detention

AN ACT Relating to juvenile detention pending disposition of a 1
crime; and amending RCW 13.40.040 and 13.40.020. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 13.40.040 and 2017 3rd sp.s. c 6 s 606 are each 4
amended to read as follows: 5
(1) A juvenile may be taken into custody: 6
(a) Pursuant to a court order if a complaint is filed with the 7
court alleging, and the court finds probable cause to believe, that 8
the juvenile has committed an offense or has violated terms of a 9
disposition order or release order; or 10
(b) Without a court order, by a law enforcement officer if 11
grounds exist for the arrest of an adult in identical circumstances. 12
Admission to, and continued custody in, a court detention facility 13
shall be governed by subsection (2) of this section; or14
(c) Pursuant to a court order that the juvenile be held as a 15
material witness; or 16
(d) Where the secretary or the secretary's designee has suspended 17
the parole of a juvenile offender. 18
(2) A juvenile may not be held in detention unless there is 19
probable cause to believe that: 20
S-0402.1
SENATE BILL 5255
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Christian and Braun
Read first time 01/14/25. Referred to Committee on Human Services.
p. 1 SB 5255
(a) The juvenile has committed an offense or has violated the 1
terms of a disposition order; and 2
(i) The juvenile will likely fail to appear for further 3
proceedings; or 4
(ii) Detention is required to protect the juvenile from himself 5
or herself; or 6
(iii) The juvenile is a threat to community safety; or7
(iv) The juvenile will intimidate witnesses or otherwise 8
unlawfully interfere with the administration of justice; or9
(v) The juvenile has committed a crime while another case was 10
pending; or 11
(vi) The juvenile is alleged to have committed a crime with a 12
firearm or is alleged to have access to an unlawfully possessed 13
firearm; or14
(vii) The juvenile is alleged to have committed a crime with a 15
stolen vehicle or is alleged to have stolen or taken a vehicle 16
without permission; or17
(b) The juvenile is a fugitive from justice; or18
(c) The juvenile's parole has been suspended or modified; or19
(d) The juvenile is a material witness. 20
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, and within 21
available funds, a juvenile who has been found guilty of one of the 22
following offenses shall be detained pending disposition: Rape in the 23
first or second degree (RCW 9A.44.040 and 9A.44.050); ((or)) rape of 24
a child in the first degree (RCW 9A.44.073); unlawful possession of a 25
firearm in the first or second degree (RCW 9.41.040); a motor vehicle 26
theft offense as defined in RCW 13.40.020; or any violent offense or 27
serious violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030.28
(4) Upon a finding that members of the community have threatened 29
the health of a juvenile taken into custody, at the juvenile's 30
request the court may order continued detention pending further order 31
of the court. 32
(5) Except as provided in RCW 9.41.280, a juvenile detained under 33
this section may be released upon posting a probation bond set by the 34
court. The juvenile's parent or guardian may sign for the probation 35
bond. A court authorizing such a release shall issue an order 36
containing a statement of conditions imposed upon the juvenile and 37
shall set the date of his or her next court appearance. The court 38
shall advise the juvenile of any conditions specified in the order 39
and may at any time amend such an order in order to impose additional 40
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or different conditions of release upon the juvenile or to return the 1
juvenile to custody for failing to conform to the conditions imposed. 2
In addition to requiring the juvenile to appear at the next court 3
date, the court may condition the probation bond on the juvenile's 4
compliance with conditions of release. The juvenile's parent or 5
guardian may notify the court that the juvenile has failed to conform 6
to the conditions of release or the provisions in the probation bond. 7
If the parent notifies the court of the juvenile's failure to comply 8
with the probation bond, the court shall notify the surety. As 9
provided in the terms of the bond, the surety shall provide notice to 10
the court of the offender's noncompliance. A juvenile may be released 11
only to a responsible adult or the department of children, youth, and 12
families. Failure to appear on the date scheduled by the court 13
pursuant to this section shall constitute the crime of bail jumping.14
Sec. 2. RCW 13.40.020 and 2024 c 117 s 4 are each amended to 15
read as follows: 16
For the purposes of this chapter: 17
(1) "Assessment" means an individualized examination of a child 18
to determine the child's psychosocial needs and problems, including 19
the type and extent of any mental health, substance abuse, or co-20
occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders, and 21
recommendations for treatment. "Assessment" includes, but is not 22
limited to, drug and alcohol evaluations, psychological and 23
psychiatric evaluations, records review, clinical interview, and 24
administration of a formal test or instrument; 25
(2) "Community-based rehabilitation" means one or more of the 26
following: Employment; attendance of information classes; literacy 27
classes; counseling, outpatient substance abuse treatment programs, 28
outpatient mental health programs, anger management classes, 29
education or outpatient treatment programs to prevent animal cruelty, 30
or other services including, when appropriate, restorative justice 31
programs; or attendance at school or other educational programs 32
appropriate for the juvenile as determined by the school district. 33
Placement in community-based rehabilitation programs is subject to 34
available funds; 35
(3) "Community-based sanctions" may include community restitution 36
not to exceed 150 hours of community restitution; 37
(4) "Community restitution" means compulsory service, without 38
compensation, performed for the benefit of the community by the 39
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offender as punishment for committing an offense. Community 1
restitution may be performed through public or private organizations 2
or through work crews; 3
(5) "Community supervision" means an order of disposition by the 4
court of an adjudicated youth not committed to the department or an 5
order granting a deferred disposition. A community supervision order 6
for a single offense may be for a period of up to two years for a sex 7
offense as defined by RCW 9.94A.030 and up to one year for other 8
offenses. As a mandatory condition of any term of community 9
supervision, the court shall order the juvenile to refrain from 10
committing new offenses. As a mandatory condition of community 11
supervision, the court shall order the juvenile to comply with the 12
mandatory school attendance provisions of chapter 28A.225 RCW and to 13
inform the school of the existence of this requirement. Community 14
supervision is an individualized program comprised of one or more of 15
the following: 16
(a) Community-based sanctions; 17
(b) Community-based rehabilitation; 18
(c) Monitoring and reporting requirements; 19
(d) Posting of a probation bond; 20
(e) Residential treatment, where substance abuse, mental health, 21
and/or co-occurring disorders have been identified in an assessment 22
by a qualified mental health professional, psychologist, 23
psychiatrist, co-occurring disorder specialist, or substance use 24
disorder professional and a funded bed is available. If a child 25
agrees to voluntary placement in a state-funded long-term evaluation 26
and treatment facility, the case must follow the existing placement 27
procedure including consideration of less restrictive treatment 28
options and medical necessity. 29
(i) A court may order residential treatment after consideration 30
and findings regarding whether: 31
(A) The referral is necessary to rehabilitate the child;32
(B) The referral is necessary to protect the public or the child;33
(C) The referral is in the child's best interest;34
(D) The child has been given the opportunity to engage in less 35
restrictive treatment and has been unable or unwilling to comply; and36
(E) Inpatient treatment is the least restrictive action 37
consistent with the child's needs and circumstances.38
(ii) In any case where a court orders a child to inpatient 39
treatment under this section, the court must hold a review hearing no 40
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later than 60 days after the youth begins inpatient treatment, and 1
every 30 days thereafter, as long as the youth is in inpatient 2
treatment; 3
(6) "Community transition services" means a therapeutic and 4
supportive community-based custody option in which:5
(a) A person serves a portion of their term of confinement 6
residing in the community, outside of department institutions and 7
community facilities; 8
(b) The department supervises the person in part through the use 9
of technology that is capable of determining or identifying the 10
monitored person's presence or absence at a particular location;11
(c) The department provides access to developmentally 12
appropriate, trauma-informed, racial equity-based, and culturally 13
relevant programs to promote successful reentry; and14
(d) The department prioritizes the delivery of available 15
programming from individuals who share characteristics with the 16
individual being served related to: Race, ethnicity, sexual identity, 17
and gender identity; 18
(7) "Confinement" means physical custody by the department of 19
children, youth, and families in a facility operated by or pursuant 20
to a contract with the state, or physical custody in a detention 21
facility operated by or pursuant to a contract with any county. The 22
county may operate or contract with vendors to operate county 23
detention facilities. The department may operate or contract to 24
operate detention facilities for juveniles committed to the 25
department. Pretrial confinement or confinement of less than 31 days 26
imposed as part of a disposition or modification order may be served 27
consecutively or intermittently, in the discretion of the court;28
(8) "Court," when used without further qualification, means the 29
juvenile court judge(s) or commissioner(s); 30
(9) "Criminal history" includes all criminal complaints against 31
the respondent for which, prior to the commission of a current 32
offense: 33
(a) The allegations were found correct by a court. If a 34
respondent is convicted of two or more charges arising out of the 35
same course of conduct, only the highest charge from among these 36
shall count as an offense for the purposes of this chapter; or37
(b) The criminal complaint was diverted by a prosecutor pursuant 38
to the provisions of this chapter on agreement of the respondent and 39
after an advisement to the respondent that the criminal complaint 40
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would be considered as part of the respondent's criminal history. A 1
successfully completed deferred adjudication that was entered before 2
July 1, 1998, or a deferred disposition shall not be considered part 3
of the respondent's criminal history; 4
(10) "Custodial interrogation" means express questioning or other 5
actions or words by a law enforcement officer which are reasonably 6
likely to elicit an incriminating response from an individual and 7
occurs when reasonable individuals in the same circumstances would 8
consider themselves in custody; 9
(11) "Department" means the department of children, youth, and 10
families; 11
(12) "Detention facility" means a county facility, paid for by 12
the county, for the physical confinement of a juvenile alleged to 13
have committed an offense or an adjudicated offender subject to a 14
disposition or modification order. "Detention facility" includes 15
county group homes, inpatient substance abuse programs, juvenile 16
basic training camps, and electronic monitoring; 17
(13) "Diversion unit" means any probation counselor who enters 18
into a diversion agreement with an alleged youthful offender, or any 19
other person, community accountability board, youth court under the 20
supervision of the juvenile court, or other entity with whom the 21
juvenile court administrator has contracted to arrange and supervise 22
such agreements pursuant to RCW 13.40.080, or any person, community 23
accountability board, or other entity specially funded by the 24
legislature to arrange and supervise diversion agreements in 25
accordance with the requirements of this chapter. For purposes of 26
this subsection, "community accountability board" means a board 27
comprised of members of the local community in which the juvenile 28
offender resides. The superior court shall appoint the members. The 29
boards shall consist of at least three and not more than seven 30
members. If possible, the board should include a variety of 31
representatives from the community, such as a law enforcement 32
officer, teacher or school administrator, high school student, 33
parent, and business owner, and should represent the cultural 34
diversity of the local community; 35
(14) "Foster care" means temporary physical care in a foster 36
family home or group care facility as defined in RCW 74.15.020 and 37
licensed by the department, or other legally authorized care;38
(15) "Institution" means a juvenile facility established pursuant 39
to chapters 72.05 and 72.16 through 72.20 RCW; 40
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(16) "Intensive supervision program" means a parole program that 1
requires intensive supervision and monitoring, offers an array of 2
individualized treatment and transitional services, and emphasizes 3
community involvement and support in order to reduce the likelihood a 4
juvenile offender will commit further offenses; 5
(17) "Juvenile," "youth," and "child" mean any individual who is 6
under the chronological age of 18 years and who has not been 7
previously transferred to adult court pursuant to RCW 13.40.110, 8
unless the individual was convicted of a lesser charge or acquitted 9
of the charge for which he or she was previously transferred pursuant 10
to RCW 13.40.110 or who is not otherwise under adult court 11
jurisdiction; 12
(18) "Juvenile offender" means any juvenile who has been found by 13
the juvenile court to have committed an offense, including a person 14
18 years of age or older over whom the juvenile court has 15
jurisdiction under RCW 13.40.300; 16
(19) "Labor" means the period of time before a birth during which 17
contractions are of sufficient frequency, intensity, and duration to 18
bring about effacement and progressive dilation of the cervix;19
(20) "Local sanctions" means one or more of the following: (a) 20
0-30 days of confinement; (b) 0-12 months of community supervision; 21
or (c) 0-150 hours of community restitution; 22
(21) "Manifest injustice" means a disposition that would either 23
impose an excessive penalty on the juvenile or would impose a 24
serious, and clear danger to society in light of the purposes of this 25
chapter; 26
(22) "Monitoring and reporting requirements" means one or more of 27
the following: Curfews; requirements to remain at home, school, work, 28
or court-ordered treatment programs during specified hours; 29
restrictions from leaving or entering specified geographical areas; 30
requirements to report to the probation officer as directed and to 31
remain under the probation officer's supervision; and other 32
conditions or limitations as the court may require which may not 33
include confinement; 34
(23) "Motor vehicle theft offenses" includes:35
(a) Possession of a stolen vehicle (RCW 9A.56.068); 36
(b) Theft of a motor vehicle (RCW 9A.56.065);37
(c) Taking a motor vehicle without permission in the first degree 38
(RCW 9A.56.070); and39
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(d) Taking a motor vehicle without permission in the second 1
degree (RCW 9A.56.075);2
(24) "Offense" means an act designated a violation or a crime if 3
committed by an adult under the law of this state, under any 4
ordinance of any city or county of this state, under any federal law, 5
or under the law of another state if the act occurred in that state;6
(((24))) (25) "Physical restraint" means the use of any bodily 7
force or physical intervention to control a juvenile offender or 8
limit a juvenile offender's freedom of movement in a way that does 9
not involve a mechanical restraint. Physical restraint does not 10
include momentary periods of minimal physical restriction by direct 11
person-to-person contact, without the aid of mechanical restraint, 12
accomplished with limited force and designed to: 13
(a) Prevent a juvenile offender from completing an act that would 14
result in potential bodily harm to self or others or damage property;15
(b) Remove a disruptive juvenile offender who is unwilling to 16
leave the area voluntarily; or 17
(c) Guide a juvenile offender from one location to another;18
(((25))) (26) "Postpartum recovery" means (a) the entire period a 19
woman or youth is in the hospital, birthing center, or clinic after 20
giving birth and (b) an additional time period, if any, a treating 21
physician determines is necessary for healing after the youth leaves 22
the hospital, birthing center, or clinic; 23
(((26))) (27) "Probation bond" means a bond, posted with 24
sufficient security by a surety justified and approved by the court, 25
to secure the offender's appearance at required court proceedings and 26
compliance with court-ordered community supervision or conditions of 27
release ordered pursuant to RCW 13.40.040 or 13.40.050. It also means 28
a deposit of cash or posting of other collateral in lieu of a bond if 29
approved by the court; 30
(((27))) (28) "Respondent" means a juvenile who is alleged or 31
proven to have committed an offense; 32
(((28))) (29) "Restitution" means financial reimbursement by the 33
offender to the victim, and shall be limited to easily ascertainable 34
damages for injury to or loss of property, actual expenses incurred 35
for medical treatment for physical injury to persons, lost wages 36
resulting from physical injury, and costs of the victim's counseling 37
reasonably related to the offense. Restitution shall not include 38
reimbursement for damages for mental anguish, pain and suffering, or 39
other intangible losses. Nothing in this chapter shall limit or 40
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replace civil remedies or defenses available to the victim or 1
offender; 2
(((29))) (30) "Restorative justice" means practices, policies, 3
and programs informed by and sensitive to the needs of crime victims 4
that are designed to encourage offenders to accept responsibility for 5
repairing the harm caused by their offense by providing safe and 6
supportive opportunities for voluntary participation and 7
communication between the victim, the offender, their families, and 8
relevant community members; 9
(((30))) (31) "Restraints" means anything used to control the 10
movement of a person's body or limbs and includes:11
(a) Physical restraint; or 12
(b) Mechanical device including but not limited to: Metal 13
handcuffs, plastic ties, ankle restraints, leather cuffs, other 14
hospital-type restraints, tasers, or batons; 15
(((31))) (32) "Risk assessment tool" means the statistically 16
valid tool used by the department to inform release or placement 17
decisions related to security level, release within the sentencing 18
range, community facility eligibility, community transition services 19
eligibility, and parole. The "risk assessment tool" is used by the 20
department to predict the likelihood of successful reentry and future 21
criminal behavior; 22
(((32))) (33) "Screening" means a process that is designed to 23
identify a child who is at risk of having mental health, substance 24
abuse, or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders 25
that warrant immediate attention, intervention, or more comprehensive 26
assessment. A screening may be undertaken with or without the 27
administration of a formal instrument; 28
(((33))) (34) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department;29
(((34))) (35) "Serious threat to public safety" includes, but is 30
not limited to, a threat to community safety;31
(36) "Services" means services which provide alternatives to 32
incarceration for those juveniles who have pleaded or been 33
adjudicated guilty of an offense or have signed a diversion agreement 34
pursuant to this chapter; 35
(((35))) (37) "Sex offense" means an offense defined as a sex 36
offense in RCW 9.94A.030; 37
(((36))) (38) "Sexual motivation" means that one of the purposes 38
for which the respondent committed the offense was for the purpose of 39
the respondent's sexual gratification; 40
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(((37))) (39) "Surety" means an entity licensed under state 1
insurance laws or by the state department of licensing, to write 2
corporate, property, or probation bonds within the state, and 3
justified and approved by the superior court of the county having 4
jurisdiction of the case; 5
(((38))) (40) "Threat to community safety" includes, but is not 6
limited to, when there is probable cause to believe that a juvenile 7
has caused or will cause:8
(a) Harm to themselves;9
(b) Harm to another; or10
(c) Harm to the property of another;11
(41) "Transportation" means the conveying, by any means, of an 12
incarcerated pregnant youth from the institution or detention 13
facility to another location from the moment she leaves the 14
institution or detention facility to the time of arrival at the other 15
location, and includes the escorting of the pregnant incarcerated 16
youth from the institution or detention facility to a transport 17
vehicle and from the vehicle to the other location;18
(((39))) (42) "Violation" means an act or omission, which if 19
committed by an adult, must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and 20
is punishable by sanctions which do not include incarceration;21
(((40))) (43) "Violent offense" means a violent offense as 22
defined in RCW 9.94A.030; 23
(((41))) (44) "Youth court" means a diversion unit under the 24
supervision of the juvenile court. 25
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