Support Prop 1, and a rebuild of key center | GUEST OP

King County Proposition No. 1 appears on the Aug. 7 primary election ballot.

The King County Children and Family Justice Center (CFJC), located on King County property at 12th and Alder Seattle, is the primary facility of King County Superior Court Juvenile Court.

As citizens of King County, we should all take pride in our juvenile court being recognized as a national leader. The court has developed innovative reforms, providing programs and services designed to reclaim the lives of youth and families involved in the juvenile courts and child welfare systems that function out of this aging facility.

Yet the facilities are dangerously outdated and failing our children, despite the fact that a growing population and economic difficulties mean more kids and families need care and protection.

Brown water flows from drinking fountains, entire sections are unusable, and electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems are beyond repair. Experts say the building is in “severe disrepair,” must be replaced and is beyond its useful lifespan.

Those of us here at Kent Youth and Family Services who deal with children, youth and families involved with the CFJC can attest that these facilities have been in a state of deterioration for probably some 20 years already.

CFJC is where children and families go in times of crisis: child abuse and neglect; foster care transition; complex custody issues; juvenile offenses and truancy cases.

Since the completion of the King County Juvenile Justice Operational Master Plan (JJOMP) in March 2000, King County, along with its youth and family partner community based organizations, like here at Kent Youth and Family Services, has made significant progress in reclaiming these young lives. Yet the hub of these efforts within the walls of the CFJC cannot sustain these groundbreaking efforts.

And, regrettably, many more of our youth are lost to recidivism. They return to “the system,” eventually moving onto a lifetime of repeated criminal justice involvement as adults directly due to the woeful CFJC facility conditions. It ends with lost lives and far greater expenditure of all of our tax revenues over the long term, as well as threatening the safety of our communities.

Here in South King County we must recognize these children and youth and their families are “our families.”

King County juvenile court statistics record two-thirds – 66 percent – of all youth involved in services at CFJC reside in South King County. Here in Kent, KYFS is involved with CFJC, Juvenile Court, projects that include the highly regarded Juvenile Drug Court, and it recently launched the Drug Court Enhancement Project.

These projects involve reclaiming youth facing adjudication (conviction) for offenses resulting from abuse/dependence on alcohol and other drugs. We provide a community linkage/partnership with King County working with these youth and their families in a number of the therapeutic and youth development services that succeed in reclaiming the lives of our Kent youth.

Our staff has been in and out of the King County Youth Services Center on a daily basis for decades now. Thus, KYFS staff can attest to the problems with the current facility as identified.

Prop 1 asks voters to approve a nine-year property tax levy lid lift of 7 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, which would raise approximately $200 million for construction of the Children and Family Justice Center. The cost to the median homeowner in King County would be less than $25 per year to replace this aging facility portions of which are some 60 years old.

It is my hope residents of Kent will agree with supporting our children, youth and families with a facility that supports their successful return to a life of positively contributing to our community during a time when many of them are facing their greatest family crises.

I encourage your “yes” vote on this much needed rebuild of the King County Children and Youth Justice Center. Together we can reclaim all of King County’s “opportunity youth” and their families.

Mike Heinisch is executive director of Kent Youth and Family Services. To reach him or to obtain more information about KYFS, call 253-859-0300 or visit www.kyfs.org.