Pierce County Juvenile Justice Assessment

Sometimes our kids end up in detention and the judge is asking for resources and the resources are saying, ‘Until they’re out, we can’t provide resources.’ So you’ve got that gap of two different systems working against each other.” -Court services staff

GOAL

This assessment is intended to guide future county investments in preventing and responding to youth crime, particularly youth violence, and to inform current policy discussions around the need to invest significant county funds into a renovation or reenvisioning of the current Juvenile Justice Court and Detention Center (Remann Hall).

Background

Following a 2024 County Council request, the Pierce County Performance Audit Committee contracted with the CoLab for Community and Behavioral Health Policy at the University of Washington to conduct an audit of the county’s juvenile justice system against national and research best practice.

We are grateful for the responsiveness and participation of the Pierce County Human Services Department, Pierce County Juvenile Court and Detention staff, the Pierce County Prosecutors Office, Tacoma Police Department, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, Pierce County Department of Assigned Counsel and the Puyallup and Bethel School Districts.

Disclosure: CoLab is currently contracted with the Pierce County Juvenile Court to support ongoing youth probation reform.