Every day of the year, Juvenile Rehabilitation (JR) staff provide critical support to justice-involved youth. Last year, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) unofficially named July as JR Staff Appreciation Month to celebrate and honor the important work of these public servants.
Earlier this year, Echo Glen Children’s Center launched a creative writing program for the young people living there, and the work of several youth has recently been recognized and published!
After a year and a half of planning, hard work, and tenacity from many people behind the scenes, the cosmetology program at Echo Glen Children's Center has launched. In May 2022, staff, students, and visitors attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the occasion.
DCYF's partners at Performance-based Standards (PbS) measure the agency's work in Juvenile Rehabilitation (JR) institutions and compa
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a national movement to raise awareness of individuals living with mental or behavioral health issues and to help reduce stigma. In Juvenile Rehabilitation (JR), DCYF staff put behavioral health at the forefront of providing services and treatment to youth. We accomplish this in several ways:
Trauma-informed care aims to realize the impact of trauma, understand paths to recovery, recognize signs and symptoms, integrate knowledge about trauma into policies and practices, and actively avoid re-traumatization.
Providing the young people in DCYF’s care an opportunity to write about their lived experiences achieves many goals at once – writing is often therapeutic and strengthens writing skills while helping youth to claim their stories, thereby fostering personal growth.
As DCYF works to eliminate racial disproportionalities and advance racial equity, it’s essential to continue supporting the voices of BIPOC youth and acknowledge their history as an embedded part of our community every day of the year.
Every year, Echo Glen Children’s Center rings in the New Year with a movie night for youth and staff. This year, Harbor Wholesale donated “movie baskets” filled with fun snacks for the celebration.
Successfully transitioning young people into adulthood is at the forefront of DCYF's work to implement the agency's Strategic and Racial Equity Plan.