Dow ConstantineVerified account

Coming up on #KUOWRecord: @kcexec talks about why a new youth jail should be built in Seattle. We also welcome @VaughnPalmer to talk about a Vancouver, B.C. oil pipeline fight. We're live 12-1 p.m.

Why does King County need a juvenile justice center? @kcexec: We don't want kids detained. You have to do a lot of deep community work to get there. Over the last 20 years we've done a lot of work to reduce the amount of kids incarcerated. #KUOWRecord

How do we keep kids from going to jail? @kcexec: By diverting kids into community programs. That reduces recidivism. Trauma in youth, unfair circumstances, can lead kids into misbehavior and get them into trouble. We also know that traditional detention is traumatic. #KUOWRecord

.@kcexec: The purpose of juvenile detention is not punishment, it's rehabilitation. A traditional juvenile setting is traumatic... A traditional juvenile setting — a jail — can potentially increase the ways kids could continue to act out. #KUOWRecord

Most kids who are charged with crimes are not in a detention center. @kcexec: They're out and waiting for a meeting. I think that's a misconception... But kids also get into big trouble during that time. So we're trying to come up with alternatives across the map. #KUOWRecord

If Seattle doesn't build a new detention facility: @kcexec: The kids will be left in an old, decrepit facility that is, by its very nature, traumatizing. This new one is a more therapeutic environment, capable of the kinds of programming these kids need. #KUOWRecord