Youth Justice Archives

The Seattle Times got it right – check out this powerful, compelling article by Claudia Rowe

Youth Justice | 02/10/2023

Stand for Children

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This session, Stand is advocating for restorative educational justice by urging lawmakers to build a debt-free youth justice system. One way to reduce the harmful impacts of juvenile legal system involvement on young people’s educational and life opportunities is to eliminate the ineffective and inefficient practice of imposing financial restitution in juvenile cases. That’s why, alongside our partners in the Debt Free Youth Justice Washington Coalition, we are advocating for the passage of Senate Bill 5474 and House Bill 1432.

Our coalition was thrilled to see this powerful and compelling article by Claudia Rowe, who spotlights the experience of one of our amazing coalition members, and outlines the overall impacts of a system that allows kids to be fined in ways that can create life-altering barriers. Claudia writes:

‘If we want young people who have committed crimes to change their lives and get on a better path, saddling them with an impossible debt only hinders that goal.’

Concluding that this only results in “a criminal justice system that provides very little justice — to anyone” this article is a powerful illustration of why we must replace inequitable, systemically flawed policies with community-based solutions that build pathways of opportunity and potential for young people.

Read the full article here. And to track progress on this effort, subscribe to Stand’s list and visit dfyjwa.org.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Leesa Manion will uphold the truest version of public safety for young people

Elections | 10/28/2022

Kia C. Franklin Executive Director, Stand for Children Washington

Stand for Children is proud to be a member of the youth justice reform community in Washington State. Working together, we must reduce the harmful impacts of juvenile legal system involvement on young people’s opportunities and eliminate pipelines from K-12 education that push young people into carceral systems.

King County has been leading the way in progressive juvenile legal reform, and we must continue that progress as we work to change our systems across every county in the state.

This election cycle in King County has the oft-overlooked but very impactful office of the county’s Prosecuting Attorney on the ballot, and the Stand for Children Washington PAC is proudly endorsing Leesa Manion in this race.

Leesa is the current Chief of Staff of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, where she has spearheaded projects aimed at protecting public safety, reducing racial inequity, strengthening victim services, and holding repeat criminals accountable. She has a clear track record of creating programs that help young people learn from and acknowledge their mistakes while also repairing harm to the community and understanding that each young person has more human worth than the sum of their missteps.

As election day approaches on November 8th, I felt compelled to set the record straight about Leesa’s candidacy and her data-driven approach to supporting young people and building safer communities. I made my case about why you should vote for Leesa this week in The Stranger. As you fill out your ballot, I encourage you to read it if you need more information.

If you haven’t voted yet, you can view our whole list of endorsed education and justice champions here. And no matter where you are in the state, you can find information about your ballot and voter guide at vote.wa.gov.

our 2022 endorsement list

Youth impacted by court fines and fees: take this survey

Youth Justice | 10/14/2022

Katie Gustainis Marketing & Communications Director

For anyone who has been impacted by court costs like fines, fees, or restitution as a young person – will you take our 3-minute survey? It will help support our advocacy to hopefully eliminate those fees in Washington state.

To access the survey link, please contact Meghan Grace at [email protected] or 510-984-4167 and she’ll send it to you.

This survey was developed by the Debt Free Youth Justice Washington coalition, which Stand for Children co-leads. We are a statewide coalition of directly-impacted advocates, community leaders, and policy experts committed to ending the harmful impacts of juvenile fees, fines, and restitution in Washington state.

Washington Ends Practice of Charging Families For Their Child’s Incarceration

Legislation | 03/30/2022

Kia C. Franklin Executive Director

PDF Version of Press Release Available Here

Ending “parent pay” – a 2022 Legislative Session priority for Stand for Children – allows Washington to uphold racial equity and help youth successfully transition into adulthood while eliminating a wasteful government policy

“Parent pay” eliminated following overwhelming bipartisan support in State House and Senate, Governor’s signature

OLYMPIA – Today, the Department of Children Youth and Families (DCYF), Stand for Children, and the Center for Children and Youth Justice applaud Governor Inslee and the Washington State Legislature for adopting HB 2050 and ending “parent pay” in Washington State. Parent pay, which requires families to pay a percentage of their income to support their child’s incarceration, was a barrier to young peoples’ successful transition out of the juvenile system and toward a second chance. The policy had inequitable racial outcomes, created debt for families already struggling financially, and was an inefficient source of revenue for the state.

The coalition of voices that advocated for the elimination of parent pay in Washington applaud the legislation’s prime sponsors Representative Kirsten Harris-Talley and Senator Claire Wilson, as well as Governor Inslee, and the Department of Children Youth and Families. As a result of their leadership, HB 2050 earned broad bipartisan support in the House (85-13) and the Senate (41-6). A direct outcome of HB 2050 will be the ending of an ineffective, expensive, and harmful practice in Washington.

“Just as we support improvements in our education system that help students successfully transition into adulthood, Stand for Children was pleased to support this law, which will enable young people in our state to better transition toward the fresh start they deserve after navigating the juvenile court system,” said Kia Franklin, executive director of Stand for Children Washington. “This law meaningfully mitigates the devastating financial destabilization and debt that follows young people and their families at a time when they should be able to focus on moving forward.”

“DCYF has been working to eliminate practices that are harmful to children and their families, and particularly those practices that are financially stupid,” said Ross Hunter, DCYF Secretary. “Requiring parents to pay for the incarceration of their children is a prime example – it probably costs more to collect than we bring in and may make it less likely for youth to reunify with their families, destabilizing their transition back to the community. We’re excited the Legislature repealed it!”

“The elimination of ‘Parent Pay’ moves us toward our vision of a more equitable, just, and truly rehabilitative system,” said Rachel Sottile, President & CEO of the Center for Children & Youth Justice. “It is one step in our collective effort to reform the youth criminal legal system; we must remain steadfast in eliminating all fines and fees. They are harmful, counterproductive, and racist. Fines and fees threaten the economic stability of families and entrench youth in a cycle of incarceration.”

Fines and fees in the juvenile system create significant obstacles for families who often become forced to choose between affording basic needs and paying the court. This is especially true for families of color and low-income households, who are disproportionately impacted at every decision point in the juvenile system. By eliminating economic sanctions like parent pay, Washington State is taking steps toward a more just judicial system—one without unnecessary, punitive, and long-term debt for families in crisis.

More than 22 states have taken steps to eliminate all or some juvenile costs, including fees like parent pay. Today, Washington continues to be a key driver in the movement to eliminate all juvenile fees nationwide.

Stand for Children Washington
As a nonprofit advocacy organization active in Washington since 2007, Stand for Children is a unique catalyst for education equity and racial justice, to create a brighter future for us all.

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To stay updated on our ongoing efforts to eliminate all youth fines and fees, we’ve created an action alert for you to sign up if you’d like to tell us how you or your family has been personally impacted by juvenile court administrative fees: https://action.stand.org/F2Pj85g