Programs for Youth in Detention

The Seattle Times describes programs at Snohomish County's Denney Juvenile Justice Center, which are getting national attention. Instead of just locking the young offenders up for a period, the center connects them with drug and alcohol programs, has them take classes run by the Everett School District, and offers art and creative writing programs staffed by volunteers.

[Margie] Holloway, the juvenile-court programs manager, said 90 percent of the kids who pass through Denney will have contributing lives as adults. And the accepting teachers and arts volunteers play a big role in the center's successes, she said.

Young offenders discover the power of poetry and Art, Seattle Times, 3/29/07. The Denney Juvenile Justice Center, built in 1998, was named for a juvenile court judge (Charles Denney). It includes three courtrooms (for criminal offenses, for dependency cases, and for truancy infractions and other proceedings). The average stay for youth in the detention facility is 6-7 days, but they can stay as long as a year and a half. Juvenile justice under one roof, Seattle Times, 3/29/07.