Juvenile correctional pop.

AN ACT Relating to emergency measures for managing juvenile 1
populations at state juvenile correctional institutions; amending RCW 2
72.01.410 and 13.40.280; adding new sections to chapter 13.40 RCW; 3
and adding a new section to chapter 72.01 RCW. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 13.40 6
RCW to read as follows: 7
The legislature finds that the youth of Washington state are 8
among its most valuable resources and that the principles enumerated 9
in RCW 13.40.010 are reaffirmed. Overcrowding, violence, and 10
increases in juvenile crime are preventing institutions from carrying 11
out the rehabilitation of youthful offenders. 12
Furthermore, the legislature recognizes the need for the 13
department to safely manage the populations of its institutions and 14
protect both youth in its care and state employees. The state of 15
Washington remains firmly committed to the principles of 16
rehabilitation and punishing offenders for the harms they commit 17
against victims and the public. 18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 13.40 19
RCW to read as follows: 20
S-0405.1
SENATE BILL 5278
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Braun, Christian, Dozier, and J. Wilson
Read first time 01/15/25. Referred to Committee on Human Services.
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The department shall promulgate rules establishing the safe 1
operational capacity of all juvenile correctional institutions and 2
community facilities under its control. The department shall revise 3
those rules as necessary. 4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 13.40 5
RCW to read as follows: 6
(1)(a) When the secretary concludes that the in-residence 7
population of any secure juvenile correctional institution exceeds 8
105 percent of the rated bed capacity, the secretary may transfer a 9
sufficient number of offenders from the secure institution to 10
community facilities to reduce the in-residence population at the 11
secure institution to 100 percent of rated bed capacity.12
(b) The following offenders shall not be transferred:13
(i) An offender adjudicated of a violent offense or a sex 14
offense, as defined in RCW 9.94A.030; 15
(ii) An offender that is a risk to public safety;16
(iii) An offender that is a serious threat to the safety of 17
others in the institution, as determined by a hearing conducted under 18
RCW 13.40.280; 19
(iv) An offender that would be better served by the services 20
provided at an institution; or 21
(v) An offender with a history of infractions at an institution 22
and who would be unable to comply with residential disciplinary 23
standards established by the department. 24
(c) When placing an offender at a community facility under this 25
section, the secretary shall comply with RCW 72.05.420, except the 26
requirements of RCW 72.05.420(1)(b) may be waived.27
(2)(a) When the secretary concludes that the in-residence 28
population of any secure juvenile correctional institution exceeds 29
105 percent of the rated bed capacity and the rehabilitative goals of 30
the institution cannot be met, the secretary shall, with consent of 31
the secretary of the department of corrections, transfer a sufficient 32
number of offenders from the secure institution to the department of 33
corrections to reduce the in-residence population of the secure 34
institution to 100 percent of rated bed capacity. 35
(b) The following offenders shall be transferred:36
(i) Any offender over the age of 18; and 37
(ii) Any offender who has a term of confinement or earned release 38
date that extends beyond the offender's 25th birthday.39
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 72.01 1
RCW to read as follows: 2
(1) Any person, who is at least 18 years old of age and is placed 3
in a juvenile correctional facility pursuant to RCW 72.01.410, may 4
request that the person be transferred to the department of 5
corrections. The secretary of the department of children, youth, and 6
families, with consent of the secretary of the department of 7
corrections, may transfer any person that makes such a request under 8
this section. 9
(2) When approving or denying a request to transfer under this 10
section, the secretary of the department of children, youth, and 11
families shall consider the following factors: 12
(a) The nature of the request; 13
(b) The safety of the person making the request;14
(c) The safety of the institution and the public;15
(d) The safety of any victims; 16
(e) The severity of any offense committed; 17
(f) Whether the person's transfer to the department of 18
corrections will affect the rehabilitative goals of the person; and19
(g) Any other information necessary. 20
(2) This section does not create any legal rights.21
(3) The secretary of the department of children, youth, and 22
families and the secretary of the department of corrections shall 23
develop a form for a person to make a transfer request.24
Sec. 5. RCW 72.01.410 and 2019 c 322 s 2 are each amended to 25
read as follows: 26
(1) Whenever any person is convicted as an adult in the courts of 27
this state of a felony offense committed under the age of 28
((eighteen)) 18, and is committed for a term of confinement, that 29
person shall be initially placed in a facility operated by the 30
department of children, youth, and families. The department of 31
corrections shall determine the person's earned release date.32
(a) While in the custody of the department of children, youth, 33
and families, the person must have the same treatment, housing 34
options, transfer, and access to program resources as any other 35
person committed to that juvenile correctional facility or 36
institution pursuant to chapter 13.40 RCW. Except as provided under 37
(d) of this subsection, treatment, placement, and program decisions 38
shall be at the sole discretion of the department of children, youth, 39
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and families. ((The)) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this 1
section, the person shall not be transferred to the custody of the 2
department of corrections without the approval of the department of 3
children, youth, and families until the person reaches the age of 4
((twenty-five)) 25. 5
(b) If the person's sentence includes a term of community 6
custody, the department of children, youth, and families shall not 7
release the person to community custody until the department of 8
corrections has approved the person's release plan pursuant to RCW 9
9.94A.729(5)(b). If a person is held past his or her earned release 10
date pending release plan approval, the department of children, 11
youth, and families shall retain custody until a plan is approved or 12
the person completes the ordered term of confinement prior to age 13
((twenty-five)) 25. 14
(c) If the department of children, youth, and families determines 15
that retaining custody of the person in a facility of the department 16
of children, youth, and families presents a significant safety risk, 17
the department of children, youth, and families may transfer the 18
person to the custody of the department of corrections. Pursuant to 19
subsection (4) of this section, any assault or serious bodily harm to 20
staff or inappropriate sexual relations between a staff person and a 21
person in the custody of the department of children, youth, and 22
families shall be deemed to be a significant safety risk.23
(d) The department of corrections must retain authority over 24
custody decisions relating to a person whose earned release date is 25
on or after the person's ((twenty-fifth)) 25th birthday and who is 26
placed in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, 27
and families under this section, unless the person qualifies for 28
partial confinement under RCW 72.01.412, and must approve any leave 29
from the facility. When the person turns age ((twenty-five)) 25, ((he 30
or she )) the person must be transferred to the department of 31
corrections, except as described under RCW 72.01.412. The department 32
of children, youth, and families has all routine and day-to-day 33
operations authority for the person while the person is in its 34
custody. 35
(2)(a) Except as provided in (b) and (c) of this subsection, a 36
person under the age of ((eighteen)) 18 who is transferred to the 37
custody of the department of corrections must be placed in a housing 38
unit, or a portion of a housing unit, that is separated from other 39
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persons in custody who are ((eighteen)) 18 years of age or older, 1
until the person reaches the age of ((eighteen)) 18.2
(b) A person who is transferred to the custody of the department 3
of corrections and reaches ((eighteen)) 18 years of age may remain in 4
a housing unit for persons under the age of ((eighteen)) 18 if the 5
secretary of corrections determines that: (i) The person's needs and 6
the rehabilitation goals for the person could continue to be better 7
met by the programs and housing environment that is separate from 8
other persons in custody who are ((eighteen)) 18 years of age and 9
older; and (ii) the programs or housing environment for persons under 10
the age of ((eighteen)) 18 will not be substantially affected by the 11
continued placement of the person in that environment. The person may 12
remain placed in a housing unit for persons under the age of 13
((eighteen)) 18 until such time as the secretary of corrections 14
determines that the person's needs and goals are no longer better met 15
in that environment but in no case past the person's ((twenty-fifth)) 16
25th birthday. 17
(c) A person transferred to the custody of the department of 18
corrections who is under the age of ((eighteen)) 18 may be housed in 19
an intensive management unit or administrative segregation unit 20
containing offenders ((eighteen)) 18 years of age or older if it is 21
necessary for the safety or security of the offender or staff. In 22
these cases, the offender must be kept physically separate from other 23
offenders at all times. 24
(3) The department of children, youth, and families must review 25
the placement of a person over age ((twenty-one)) 21 in the custody 26
of the department of children, youth, and families under this section 27
to determine whether the person should be transferred to the custody 28
of the department of corrections. The department of children, youth, 29
and families may determine the frequency of the review required under 30
this subsection, but the review must occur at least once before the 31
person reaches age ((twenty-three)) 23 if the person's commitment 32
period in a juvenile institution extends beyond the person's 33
((twenty-third)) 23rd birthday. 34
(4)(a) A person shall be transferred to the custody of the 35
department of corrections from the department of children, youth, and 36
families before the person reaches the age of 25 if:37
(i) The secretary of the department of children, youth, and 38
families has reasonable cause to believe that sexual intercourse or 39
sexual contact between an employee and the person in the custody of 40
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the department of children, youth, and families has occurred, per RCW 1
13.40.570, unless the person was a victim; or 2
(ii) The person assaults a department employee or staff member 3
who was performing official duties at the time of the assault under 4
RCW 9A.36.100.5
(b) The hearing requirements in RCW 13.40.280 do not apply to a 6
person transferred to the department of corrections under this 7
subsection (4).8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 13.40 9
RCW to read as follows: 10
(1) A juvenile in the custody of the department may be 11
transferred to the custody of the department of corrections under 12
this section if the department determines that retaining custody of 13
the juvenile in a facility of the department presents a significant 14
safety risk. Any assault or serious bodily harm to staff or 15
inappropriate sexual relations between a staff person and a juvenile 16
in the custody of the department shall be deemed to be a significant 17
safety risk. 18
(2) A juvenile shall be transferred to the custody of the 19
department of corrections from the department if: 20
(a) The secretary has reasonable cause to believe that sexual 21
intercourse or sexual contact between an employee and juvenile in the 22
custody of the department has occurred, per RCW 13.40.570, unless the 23
juvenile was a victim; or 24
(b) The juvenile assaults a department employee or staff member 25
who was performing official duties at the time of the assault under 26
RCW 9A.36.100. 27
(3)(a) Except as provided in (b) and (c) of this subsection, a 28
juvenile under the age of 18 who is transferred to the custody of the 29
department of corrections under this section must be placed in a 30
housing unit, or a portion of a housing unit, that is separated from 31
other persons in custody who are 18 years of age or older, until the 32
juvenile reaches the age of 18. 33
(b) A juvenile who is transferred to the custody of the 34
department of corrections and reaches 18 years of age may remain in a 35
housing unit for persons under the age of 18 if the secretary of 36
corrections determines that: (i) The juvenile's needs and the 37
rehabilitation goals for the juvenile could continue to be better met 38
by the programs and housing environment that is separate from other 39
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persons in custody who are 18 years of age and older; and (ii) the 1
programs or housing environment for persons under the age of 18 will 2
not be substantially affected by the continued placement of the 3
person in that environment. The juvenile may remain placed in a 4
housing unit for persons under the age of 18 until such time as the 5
secretary of corrections determines that the juvenile's needs and 6
goals are no longer better met in that environment but in no case 7
past the juvenile's 25th birthday. 8
(c) A juvenile transferred to the custody of the department of 9
corrections under this section who is under the age of 18 may be 10
housed in an intensive management unit or administrative segregation 11
unit containing offenders 18 years of age or older if it is necessary 12
for the safety or security of the juvenile or staff. In these cases, 13
the juvenile must be kept physically separate from other offenders at 14
all times. 15
(4) The hearing requirements in RCW 13.40.280 do not apply to a 16
juvenile transferred to the department of corrections under this 17
section. 18
Sec. 7. RCW 13.40.280 and 2017 3rd sp.s. c 6 s 611 are each 19
amended to read as follows: 20
(1) The secretary of the department of children, youth, and 21
families, with the consent of the secretary of the department of 22
corrections, has the authority to transfer a juvenile presently or 23
hereafter committed to the department of children, youth, and 24
families to the department of corrections for appropriate 25
institutional placement in accordance with this section.26
(2) The secretary of the department of children, youth, and 27
families may, with the consent of the secretary of the department of 28
corrections, transfer a juvenile offender to the department of 29
corrections if it is established at a hearing before a review board 30
that continued placement of the juvenile offender in an institution 31
for juvenile offenders presents a continuing and serious threat to 32
the safety of others in the institution. The department of children, 33
youth, and families shall establish rules for the conduct of the 34
hearing, including provision of counsel for the juvenile offender.35
(3) ((Assaults made against any staff member at a juvenile 36
corrections institution that are reported to a local law enforcement 37
agency shall require a hearing held by the department of children, 38
youth, and families review board within ten judicial working days. )) 39
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The following offenses shall require a hearing held by the department 1
of children, youth, and families review board within 10 judicial 2
working days:3
(a) Prison riot; or4
(b) Possession of any narcotic drug or controlled substance, 5
alcohol, cannabis, or other intoxicant, or a cell phone, or other 6
form of electronic telecommunications device. The board shall 7
determine whether the accused juvenile offender represents a 8
continuing and serious threat to the safety of others in the 9
institution. 10
(4) Upon conviction in a court of law for ((custodial)): (i) 11
Custodial assault as defined in RCW 9A.36.100; (ii) prison riot as 12
defined in RCW 9.94.010; or (iii) possession of any narcotic drug or 13
controlled substance, alcohol, cannabis, or other intoxicant, or cell 14
phone, or other form of electronic telecommunications device as 15
defined in RCW 9.94.041, if the person was not transferred to the 16
department of corrections after the first hearing under subsection 17
(2) of this section, the department of children, youth, and families 18
review board shall conduct a second hearing, within five judicial 19
working days, to recommend to the secretary of the department of 20
children, youth, and families that the convicted juvenile be 21
transferred to an adult correctional facility if the review board has 22
determined the juvenile offender represents a continuing and serious 23
threat to the safety of others in the institution.24
The juvenile has the burden to show cause why the transfer to an 25
adult correctional facility should not occur. 26
(5) A juvenile offender transferred to an institution operated by 27
the department of corrections shall not remain in such an institution 28
beyond the maximum term of confinement imposed by the juvenile court.29
(6) A juvenile offender who has been transferred to the 30
department of corrections under this section may, in the discretion 31
of the secretary of the department of children, youth, and families 32
and with the consent of the secretary of the department of 33
corrections, be transferred from an institution operated by the 34
department of corrections to a facility for juvenile offenders deemed 35
appropriate by the secretary. 36
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(7) The hearing requirements of this section do not apply to 1
persons transferred to the department of corrections under section 6 2
of this act or RCW 72.01.410(4).3
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