Youth detention centers and jails are not homes. Everyone knows this. Everyone agrees. Yet TeamChild attorneys work with clients regularly to try to find a safe place for them to live when it is time for them to be released from detention.
The passage of ESHB 1394 is one of the most consequential successes we had in the legislature this year. It will change the lives of thousands of young people.
The services and supports needed for young people, their families, and communities must be adequately funded now to assure that they can weather all of the ups and downs of growing up.
Substitute House Bill 1479 (Banning isolation and restraint in schools) made it past the most recent cutoff and is still alive to become law this session. It has many hurdles to face before this session ends on April 23, 2023.
TeamChild attorneys tackle 2 major issues for clients: accountability and inclusion. A true failure of accountability and inclusion at a statewide level is highlighted in last month’s reporting from The Seattle Times and ProPublica about the Northwest School of Innovative Learning (NW SOIL).
TeamChild has been working for over a decade with individual clients, and with systems as a whole, to eliminate the harms the juvenile legal system creates for young people, their families, and communities. Much of this work has focused on post-conviction relief, which means helping a young person who has been through the legal system reconnect to a productive, inclusive, and supportive environment after that contact with court and incarceration.
There are two significant prosecuting attorney races happening in Washington state this November 8th, one in King County and one in Spokane County. For many voters, and especially young people, it may be difficult to meaningfully participate in this election because it’s hard to understand what the job of a prosecutor is all about.
We hope to make an impact for youth in education, stable and safe housing, removing post-conviction burdens and barriers, and reducing the use of incarceration to respond to the needs of young people.
In our July blog, we want to highlight a few of the new laws, that are now in effect, that impact our clients and communities and help everyone prepare for the changes.
TeamChild continues to support Washington State Supreme Court’s rule changes that protect youth from a lifetime of exposure to their juvenile legal cases. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court voted to delay implementation to allow for more discussion about how to implement the new rules.
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Seattle, WA 98144
TeamChild is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
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