Juvenile court leaders push to restore early-intervention funding to $7 million

Juvenile-court representatives told the committee they want the early-intervention funding restored to help courts and community providers deliver prevention services for at-risk youth.

"Restoring the back out early intervention program money to the original 7,000,000 per year," said Jack Murphy (Washington Association of Juvenile Court Administrators), summarizing one of three juvenile-related legislative proposals. Murphy and others said prior cuts—from $7 million to $2 million, with a partial restoration—led to job losses and shrank service capacity.

Why it matters: presenters said early-intervention funding reduces the number of youth who enter the justice system and supports community-based alternatives such as family supports, mental-health counseling and drug treatment. Murphy and other juvenile leaders also proposed requiring predisposition reports for youths facing commit­ment to state institutions and a workgroup to study disposition alternatives.

Committee members asked for data and reporting to demonstrate program impact and urged coordination with legislative staff on drafting options for the coming session.