OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, today introduced a package of reform legislation intended to address safety and operational concerns he and others have raised about state-run juvenile-rehabilitation facilities.

The four bills stem from continuing problems with overcrowding, drug use, assaults and other criminal activity at Green Hill School in Chehalis, which traditionally housed boys convicted of crimes while under the age of 18. Due to a law passed in 2018 referred to as JR to 25, residents who turn 18 while in custody are now kept at the facility rather than moved to the state prison system. This has created a host of serious problems that endanger residents and staff and undermine the state’s duty to provide rehabilitation services.

Green Hill School, located in the 20th Legislative District served by Braun, is operated by the state Department of Children, Youth and Family Services (DCYF) rather than the state Department of Corrections (DOC). Given the conditions at Green Hill, Braun and others have questioned whether DCYF is the appropriate agency to oversee the facility and others like it.

• Senate Bill 5274 would require DCYF to create a pilot program for staff at Green Hill to begin wearing body cameras by Jan. 1, 2026. DCYF would also have to establish policies regarding use of the cameras, which would be like those used by law enforcement.
• Senate Bill 5276 would require DCYF and DOC to reimburse local governments for costs incurred for responding to crimes committed in jails and juvenile-reform facilities such as Green Hill. The state Office of Fiscal Management would establish an hourly reimbursement rate for law enforcement, prosecutorial, and judicial costs, as well as a daily bed rate for jail-facility costs.
• Senate Bill 5277 would repeal the JR-to-25 law.
• Senate Bill 5278 would significantly change how DCYF operates juvenile-justice facilities.
  • DCYF would be required to establish a safe maximum capacity at all juvenile-reform facilities and transfer residents to a DOC facility when the population exceeds 105% of that capacity.
  • A person who is at least 18 years old and convicted as an adult would gain the option of requesting a transfer to a DOC facility, with DCYF handling the transfer.
  • A resident of a juvenile-reform facility who assaults a DCYF employee would be transferred to a DOC facility and hearing requirements would not apply. The same would apply if DCYF has reasonable cause to believe the resident and a DCYF employee engaged in sexual contact, unless the resident was a victim of the employee.
  • A hearing within 10 days would be required in the event of a prison riot or the discovery that a resident is in possession of a cell phone, other electronic recording device, any narcotic drug or controlled substance, alcohol, cannabis or other intoxicant.

Braun’s legislation was introduced on the first day of the 2025 legislative session and is in line with the Senate Republican priority on making Washington safer.