Dunn Calls for State Audit of County-funded Juvenile Diversion Programs

Oct. 2, 2023

Following King County’s transmittal of a review of the controversial Restorative Community Pathways program this past weekend, King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn today sent a letter to Washington State Auditor Pat McCarthy requesting state performance and financial audits of controversial King County-funded juvenile diversion programs.

In his letter, which is attached, Dunn reiterates concerns about the practices of these controversial juvenile rehabilitation programs that have been covered in media outlets including The Seattle Times and KUOW and raised by the watchdog group Citizen Action Defense Fund, which has also formally requested a state audit. Specifically, Dunn highlights the lack of performance metrics collected that can demonstrate success in rehabilitating juvenile offenders and the lack of transparency about the financial workings of the County-funded private organizations that provide diversion services.

To date, King County has allocated $17.5 to private organizations for their juvenile rehabilitation services as an alternative to processing the juvenile offenders through the judicial system. These private organizations are responsible for working to prevent youth gun violence and incarceration by treating juvenile offenders, but have not provided data to King County to demonstrate that their programs are effective.

In his letter, Dunn writes, “Alarmingly, these organizations do not track or collect metrics that would demonstrate meaningful success, such as whether the juvenile offenders complete all requirements of the rehabilitation program or not, or whether the juvenile offenders commit future criminal charges. Because of this lack of information, we do not know whether these programs benefit either public safety or the juvenile offender. Surely, it is reasonable to seek metrics on the success of these organizations that are receiving public funds so we can know if they are fulfilling their obligations.”

In addition, the lack of financial oversight over the use of public funds has led to at least one financial crime. A Seattle Times article details how the Director of Finance for Community Passageways shockingly embezzled $890,000 in taxpayer funds from the program.

Dunn’s letter continues, “Clearly, there are problems not only with the performance of these organization, but also with financial transparency around use of public dollars. In particular, the explicit resistance to oversight to their use of County funds is gravely concerning. Taxpayers deserve accountability on these matters.”