This time last year in her President’s Page column, Kim Tran spoke eloquently and with compassion regarding the need to “Give Juvenile Justice Reform a Boost.” She touched on well-founded concerns regarding racial disparities in the juvenile justice system, the pressing need for alternatives to youth detention, and the important role that King County’s voter-approved Children and Family Justice Center (CFJC) could play in improving meaningful access to justice for youth offenders and their families.
A year later, youth detention rates are continuing to decline, the King County Superior Court is offering an increasing array of alternatives to juvenile detention, and some reports...