Echo Glen chaos shows WA’s failure to balance juvenile rehabilitation with security

The rationale behind keeping adolescents and young adults in juvenile facilities for crimes they committed as minors is on-target. Research consistently shows that locking young people in prison does not create the behavior changes society seeks.

All the more reason to make sure this initiative is done right. The verdict so far shows Washington has miles to go.

Passed in 2018, the law known as “Juvenile Rehabilitation to 25” — JR to 25 for short — allows youth who are charged as adults to serve their time in one of two juvenile lockups, the Echo Glen Children’s Center, in Snoqualmie, or Green Hill School, in Chehalis, until age 25. The problem is, Echo Glen is not secure. Kids escape every year, often assaulting staff in the process.