wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 5255 > Original Bill
A juvenile may be taken into custody:
Pursuant to a court order if a complaint is filed with the court alleging, and the court finds probable cause to believe, that the juvenile has committed an offense or has violated terms of a disposition order or release order; or
Without a court order, by a law enforcement officer if grounds exist for the arrest of an adult in identical circumstances. Admission to, and continued custody in, a court detention facility shall be governed by subsection (2) of this section; or
Pursuant to a court order that the juvenile be held as a material witness; or
Where the secretary or the secretary's designee has suspended the parole of a juvenile offender.
A juvenile may not be held in detention unless there is probable cause to believe that:
The juvenile has committed an offense or has violated the terms of a disposition order; and
The juvenile will likely fail to appear for further proceedings; or
Detention is required to protect the juvenile from himself or herself; or
The juvenile is a threat to community safety; or
The juvenile will intimidate witnesses or otherwise unlawfully interfere with the administration of justice; or
The juvenile has committed a crime while another case was pending; or
The juvenile is alleged to have committed a crime with a firearm or is alleged to have access to an unlawfully possessed firearm; or
The juvenile is alleged to have committed a crime with a stolen vehicle or is alleged to have stolen or taken a vehicle without permission; or
The juvenile is a fugitive from justice; or
The juvenile's parole has been suspended or modified; or
The juvenile is a material witness.
Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, and within available funds, a juvenile who has been found guilty of one of the following offenses shall be detained pending disposition: Rape in the first or second degree (RCW 9A.44.040 and 9A.44.050); rape of a child in the first degree (RCW 9A.44.073); unlawful possession of a firearm in the first or second degree (RCW 9.41.040); a motor vehicle theft offense as defined in RCW 13.40.020; or any violent offense or serious violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030.
Upon a finding that members of the community have threatened the health of a juvenile taken into custody, at the juvenile's request the court may order continued detention pending further order of the court.
Except as provided in RCW 9.41.280, a juvenile detained under this section may be released upon posting a probation bond set by the court. The juvenile's parent or guardian may sign for the probation bond. A court authorizing such a release shall issue an order containing a statement of conditions imposed upon the juvenile and shall set the date of his or her next court appearance. The court shall advise the juvenile of any conditions specified in the order and may at any time amend such an order in order to impose additional or different conditions of release upon the juvenile or to return the juvenile to custody for failing to conform to the conditions imposed. In addition to requiring the juvenile to appear at the next court date, the court may condition the probation bond on the juvenile's compliance with conditions of release. The juvenile's parent or guardian may notify the court that the juvenile has failed to conform to the conditions of release or the provisions in the probation bond. If the parent notifies the court of the juvenile's failure to comply with the probation bond, the court shall notify the surety. As provided in the terms of the bond, the surety shall provide notice to the court of the offender's noncompliance. A juvenile may be released only to a responsible adult or the department of children, youth, and families. Failure to appear on the date scheduled by the court pursuant to this section shall constitute the crime of bail jumping.
For the purposes of this chapter:
"Assessment" means an individualized examination of a child to determine the child's psychosocial needs and problems, including the type and extent of any mental health, substance abuse, or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders, and recommendations for treatment. "Assessment" includes, but is not limited to, drug and alcohol evaluations, psychological and psychiatric evaluations, records review, clinical interview, and administration of a formal test or instrument;
"Community-based rehabilitation" means one or more of the following: Employment; attendance of information classes; literacy classes; counseling, outpatient substance abuse treatment programs, outpatient mental health programs, anger management classes, education or outpatient treatment programs to prevent animal cruelty, or other services including, when appropriate, restorative justice programs; or attendance at school or other educational programs appropriate for the juvenile as determined by the school district. Placement in community-based rehabilitation programs is subject to available funds;
"Community-based sanctions" may include community restitution not to exceed 150 hours of community restitution;
"Community restitution" means compulsory service, without compensation, performed for the benefit of the community by the offender as punishment for committing an offense. Community restitution may be performed through public or private organizations or through work crews;
"Community supervision" means an order of disposition by the court of an adjudicated youth not committed to the department or an order granting a deferred disposition. A community supervision order for a single offense may be for a period of up to two years for a sex offense as defined by RCW 9.94A.030 and up to one year for other offenses. As a mandatory condition of any term of community supervision, the court shall order the juvenile to refrain from committing new offenses. As a mandatory condition of community supervision, the court shall order the juvenile to comply with the mandatory school attendance provisions of chapter 28A.225 RCW and to inform the school of the existence of this requirement. Community supervision is an individualized program comprised of one or more of the following:
Community-based sanctions;
Community-based rehabilitation;
Monitoring and reporting requirements;
Posting of a probation bond;
Residential treatment, where substance abuse, mental health, and/or co-occurring disorders have been identified in an assessment by a qualified mental health professional, psychologist, psychiatrist, co-occurring disorder specialist, or substance use disorder professional and a funded bed is available. If a child agrees to voluntary placement in a state-funded long-term evaluation and treatment facility, the case must follow the existing placement procedure including consideration of less restrictive treatment options and medical necessity.
(A) The referral is necessary to rehabilitate the child;
(B) The referral is necessary to protect the public or the child;
(C) The referral is in the child's best interest;
(D) The child has been given the opportunity to engage in less restrictive treatment and has been unable or unwilling to comply; and
(E) Inpatient treatment is the least restrictive action consistent with the child's needs and circumstances.
ii. In any case where a court orders a child to inpatient treatment under this section, the court must hold a review hearing no later than 60 days after the youth begins inpatient treatment, and every 30 days thereafter, as long as the youth is in inpatient treatment;
"Community transition services" means a therapeutic and supportive community-based custody option in which:
A person serves a portion of their term of confinement residing in the community, outside of department institutions and community facilities;
The department supervises the person in part through the use of technology that is capable of determining or identifying the monitored person's presence or absence at a particular location;
The department provides access to developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed, racial equity-based, and culturally relevant programs to promote successful reentry; and
The department prioritizes the delivery of available programming from individuals who share characteristics with the individual being served related to: Race, ethnicity, sexual identity, and gender identity;
"Confinement" means physical custody by the department of children, youth, and families in a facility operated by or pursuant to a contract with the state, or physical custody in a detention facility operated by or pursuant to a contract with any county. The county may operate or contract with vendors to operate county detention facilities. The department may operate or contract to operate detention facilities for juveniles committed to the department. Pretrial confinement or confinement of less than 31 days imposed as part of a disposition or modification order may be served consecutively or intermittently, in the discretion of the court;
"Court," when used without further qualification, means the juvenile court judge(s) or commissioner(s);
"Criminal history" includes all criminal complaints against the respondent for which, prior to the commission of a current offense:
The allegations were found correct by a court. If a respondent is convicted of two or more charges arising out of the same course of conduct, only the highest charge from among these shall count as an offense for the purposes of this chapter; or
The criminal complaint was diverted by a prosecutor pursuant to the provisions of this chapter on agreement of the respondent and after an advisement to the respondent that the criminal complaint would be considered as part of the respondent's criminal history. A successfully completed deferred adjudication that was entered before July 1, 1998, or a deferred disposition shall not be considered part of the respondent's criminal history;
"Custodial interrogation" means express questioning or other actions or words by a law enforcement officer which are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from an individual and occurs when reasonable individuals in the same circumstances would consider themselves in custody;
"Department" means the department of children, youth, and families;
"Detention facility" means a county facility, paid for by the county, for the physical confinement of a juvenile alleged to have committed an offense or an adjudicated offender subject to a disposition or modification order. "Detention facility" includes county group homes, inpatient substance abuse programs, juvenile basic training camps, and electronic monitoring;
"Diversion unit" means any probation counselor who enters into a diversion agreement with an alleged youthful offender, or any other person, community accountability board, youth court under the supervision of the juvenile court, or other entity with whom the juvenile court administrator has contracted to arrange and supervise such agreements pursuant to RCW 13.40.080, or any person, community accountability board, or other entity specially funded by the legislature to arrange and supervise diversion agreements in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. For purposes of this subsection, "community accountability board" means a board comprised of members of the local community in which the juvenile offender resides. The superior court shall appoint the members. The boards shall consist of at least three and not more than seven members. If possible, the board should include a variety of representatives from the community, such as a law enforcement officer, teacher or school administrator, high school student, parent, and business owner, and should represent the cultural diversity of the local community;
"Foster care" means temporary physical care in a foster family home or group care facility as defined in RCW 74.15.020 and licensed by the department, or other legally authorized care;
"Institution" means a juvenile facility established pursuant to chapters 72.05 and 72.16 through 72.20 RCW;
"Intensive supervision program" means a parole program that requires intensive supervision and monitoring, offers an array of individualized treatment and transitional services, and emphasizes community involvement and support in order to reduce the likelihood a juvenile offender will commit further offenses;
"Juvenile," "youth," and "child" mean any individual who is under the chronological age of 18 years and who has not been previously transferred to adult court pursuant to RCW 13.40.110, unless the individual was convicted of a lesser charge or acquitted of the charge for which he or she was previously transferred pursuant to RCW 13.40.110 or who is not otherwise under adult court jurisdiction;
"Juvenile offender" means any juvenile who has been found by the juvenile court to have committed an offense, including a person 18 years of age or older over whom the juvenile court has jurisdiction under RCW 13.40.300;
"Labor" means the period of time before a birth during which contractions are of sufficient frequency, intensity, and duration to bring about effacement and progressive dilation of the cervix;
"Local sanctions" means one or more of the following: (a) 0-30 days of confinement; (b) 0-12 months of community supervision; or (c) 0-150 hours of community restitution;
"Manifest injustice" means a disposition that would either impose an excessive penalty on the juvenile or would impose a serious, and clear danger to society in light of the purposes of this chapter;
"Monitoring and reporting requirements" means one or more of the following: Curfews; requirements to remain at home, school, work, or court-ordered treatment programs during specified hours; restrictions from leaving or entering specified geographical areas; requirements to report to the probation officer as directed and to remain under the probation officer's supervision; and other conditions or limitations as the court may require which may not include confinement;
"Motor vehicle theft offenses" includes:
Possession of a stolen vehicle (RCW 9A.56.068);
Theft of a motor vehicle (RCW 9A.56.065);
Taking a motor vehicle without permission in the first degree (RCW 9A.56.070); and
Taking a motor vehicle without permission in the second degree (RCW 9A.56.075);
"Offense" means an act designated a violation or a crime if committed by an adult under the law of this state, under any ordinance of any city or county of this state, under any federal law, or under the law of another state if the act occurred in that state;
"Physical restraint" means the use of any bodily force or physical intervention to control a juvenile offender or limit a juvenile offender's freedom of movement in a way that does not involve a mechanical restraint. Physical restraint does not include momentary periods of minimal physical restriction by direct person-to-person contact, without the aid of mechanical restraint, accomplished with limited force and designed to:
Prevent a juvenile offender from completing an act that would result in potential bodily harm to self or others or damage property;
Remove a disruptive juvenile offender who is unwilling to leave the area voluntarily; or
Guide a juvenile offender from one location to another;
"Postpartum recovery" means (a) the entire period a woman or youth is in the hospital, birthing center, or clinic after giving birth and (b) an additional time period, if any, a treating physician determines is necessary for healing after the youth leaves the hospital, birthing center, or clinic;
"Probation bond" means a bond, posted with sufficient security by a surety justified and approved by the court, to secure the offender's appearance at required court proceedings and compliance with court-ordered community supervision or conditions of release ordered pursuant to RCW 13.40.040 or 13.40.050. It also means a deposit of cash or posting of other collateral in lieu of a bond if approved by the court;
"Respondent" means a juvenile who is alleged or proven to have committed an offense;
"Restitution" means financial reimbursement by the offender to the victim, and shall be limited to easily ascertainable damages for injury to or loss of property, actual expenses incurred for medical treatment for physical injury to persons, lost wages resulting from physical injury, and costs of the victim's counseling reasonably related to the offense. Restitution shall not include reimbursement for damages for mental anguish, pain and suffering, or other intangible losses. Nothing in this chapter shall limit or replace civil remedies or defenses available to the victim or offender;
"Restorative justice" means practices, policies, and programs informed by and sensitive to the needs of crime victims that are designed to encourage offenders to accept responsibility for repairing the harm caused by their offense by providing safe and supportive opportunities for voluntary participation and communication between the victim, the offender, their families, and relevant community members;
"Restraints" means anything used to control the movement of a person's body or limbs and includes:
Physical restraint; or
Mechanical device including but not limited to: Metal handcuffs, plastic ties, ankle restraints, leather cuffs, other hospital-type restraints, tasers, or batons;
"Risk assessment tool" means the statistically valid tool used by the department to inform release or placement decisions related to security level, release within the sentencing range, community facility eligibility, community transition services eligibility, and parole. The "risk assessment tool" is used by the department to predict the likelihood of successful reentry and future criminal behavior;
"Screening" means a process that is designed to identify a child who is at risk of having mental health, substance abuse, or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders that warrant immediate attention, intervention, or more comprehensive assessment. A screening may be undertaken with or without the administration of a formal instrument;
"Secretary" means the secretary of the department;
"Serious threat to public safety" includes, but is not limited to, a threat to community safety;
"Services" means services which provide alternatives to incarceration for those juveniles who have pleaded or been adjudicated guilty of an offense or have signed a diversion agreement pursuant to this chapter;
"Sex offense" means an offense defined as a sex offense in RCW 9.94A.030;
"Sexual motivation" means that one of the purposes for which the respondent committed the offense was for the purpose of the respondent's sexual gratification;
"Surety" means an entity licensed under state insurance laws or by the state department of licensing, to write corporate, property, or probation bonds within the state, and justified and approved by the superior court of the county having jurisdiction of the case;
"Threat to community safety" includes, but is not limited to, when there is probable cause to believe that a juvenile has caused or will cause:
Harm to themselves;
Harm to another; or
Harm to the property of another;
"Transportation" means the conveying, by any means, of an incarcerated pregnant youth from the institution or detention facility to another location from the moment she leaves the institution or detention facility to the time of arrival at the other location, and includes the escorting of the pregnant incarcerated youth from the institution or detention facility to a transport vehicle and from the vehicle to the other location;
"Violation" means an act or omission, which if committed by an adult, must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and is punishable by sanctions which do not include incarceration;
"Violent offense" means a violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030;
"Youth court" means a diversion unit under the supervision of the juvenile court.