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There are 33 juvenile courts in Washington State. Twenty one counties operate detention facilities and there is one regional facility operated by a consortium of counties in eastern Washington. Of the 21 court/county facilities, 14 are located in western Washington and eight (8) are located in eastern Washington. The facilities have 1,500 total detention beds statewide.
Functions of Juvenile Court,
Juvenile courts, are a division of Superior Court, have jurisdiction over all criminal juvenile cases, at-risk (BECCA) youth, and dependency matters.
JUVENILE OFFENDER - Criminal offenses committed by juveniles are adjudicated by juvenile courts who then administer community supervision on local sanction sentences, Special Sex Offender disposition alternative, Chemical Dependency disposition alternative, Mental Health disposition alternative, diversion, and deferred dispositions. Since 1994, juvenile offense referrals have decreased 31%.
BECCA - Cases include civil procedures on Truancy, At-Risk Youth (ARY), and Child in Need of Services (CHINS). Since 1995, when the BECCA Bill was enacted, truancy filings increased by 600%, ARY petitions increased by 200%, and CHINS petitions increased by 165%.
DEPENDENCY - Children can be found to be dependent by a juvenile court if (1) they are abused and/or neglected, (2) have no parent or guardian willing or capable, or (3) are abandon. Once found dependent, the court appoints the Department of Social and Health Services to act as the custodian for the child throughout the duration of a case. The juvenile court manages the care and custody of the child while the parents are ordered to comply with treatment to correct the deficiencies that necessitated the dependency action.
CASA - Washington State dedicated 8 million dollars per biennium to juvenile courts for Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Programs. CASA volunteers are assigned to act in the capacity of guardians ad litem in dependency cases. Twenty-nine programs are funded in thirty-one counties in the state.
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