County’s Secure Crisis Residential Center is 1 of 2 in state
(Above photo is of the four rooms used for the Chelan County Secure Crisis Residential Center.)
Hershey: 'We are giving children options and choices -- and hope"
Capt. Edgar Reinfeld of the Wenatchee Police Department recalls one early morning on patrol when he came upon a 14-year-old girl alone on the streets of Wenatchee. At 2 a.m., it was 40 degrees and no one was answering the phone at her home in Chelan.
The city’s police department is unequipped to house children, and to drive the girl to her home in Chelan, not knowing if anyone would be there, was not an option. Reinfeld needed a safe place to take the teenager.
He drove her to the Secure Crisis Residential Center (SCRC) at the Chelan County Juvenile Center in Wenatchee, one of only two SCRCs left in the state. The center serves as a safe temporary placement for mostly children who have run away from home but also for those found in dangerous circumstances.
“In the absence of criminal charges, when you have that unplaceable child who just needs a safe place to land temporarily while professionals can sort things out, the CRC is an exceptional resource,” Reinfeld said. “These situations are really difficult in other communities that don’t have this resource.”
Operating out of one of the four secure units at the Chelan County Juvenile Center, the SCRC has been serving the local community since 1999, when there were similar facilities across the state. Over the years, reductions in state funding caused other facilities to close. The Wenatchee SCRC is the only one on the state’s east side, with the other in Clallam County. Both have four beds.
At the Chelan County center, law enforcement placements are the most common reason a child stays at the SCRC. If an officer finds a child who has been reported as a runaway, the officer must first call the parent or guardian before taking them to the SCRC. Effective July 1, the law allows for at-risk youth who are in contempt of court to be placed in a SCRC.
To be housed at an SCRC, children:
Must be at least 12 years old and under 18 years old.
Must meet legal placement criteria.
They must be medically cleared.
Although the SCRC is located in a juvenile detention living unit, it functions quite differently than conventional detention, including:
Parents or guardians are free to pick up a child at any time (with the recent exception of court-ordered At-Risk Youth contempt cases).
Children may stay in the SCRC up to 72 hours (this time does not include weekends or holidays), with a maximum stay of five days.
The stay is not court-ordered (with the recent exception of court-ordered At-Risk Youth contempt cases).
While the unit is locked and children are monitored around the clock, a child’s individual room is not locked. They are free to use the living areas in the unit or exercise areas in the juvenile center.
Children in the SCRC never come in contact with others held in detention.
The SCRC operates off a mix of county funding and a contract with the state’s Office of Homeless Youth (OHY). The OHY recently awarded the SCRC a $527,277 contract that will allow continued operation through June 2025.
There were 62 SCRC placements in 2015, 67 in 2016, 33 in 2017, 36 in 2018, and 26 in 2019. After the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers decreased further to 12 placements in 2020, 14 in 2021, 13 in 2022, and 11 so far this year.
The decrease in placements are not for a lack of need, said Corey Stephens, director of the Juvenile Center. He’d like to see local law enforcement agencies get back to regularly using the center as another tool to help keep youth safe in the community.
“The SCRC is an option for law enforcement and it’s a safe, secure resource for children and their families, with the ultimate goal of family reunification, when appropriate,” Stephens said.
SCRC staff work to match children and their families with local resources, including crisis responders from Catholic Charities, the Center for Drug and Alcohol Treatment, and the SAGE Advocacy Center, said Katie Hershey, crisis residential coordinator at the juvenile center. Families may be offered mediation and counseling services, and the child has a right to request that a multidisciplinary team be formed to assist in a coordinated referral for the child or family, Hershey said. Referrals to the Department of Children, Youth and Families for Family Reconciliation Services and coordination with the child’s school are typical as well.
“Sometimes what is lacking is that communication between a child and parents,” Hershey said. “So much of what I do with children is have those difficult conversations. I also emphasize that counseling can be beneficial.”
A 72-hour, or oftentimes less, stay at the SCRC can feel very brief for staff, who are working to get young people to take those first steps toward healing or accepting help.
“While a child is in our care, we ask a lot of questions about their current situation,” Hershey said. “We are assessing the child’s and family’s needs. We are giving them options and choices – and hope.”
Last Updated: 01/18/2024 08:31 AM
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Assessor's Office Community Meeting: Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee
Posted by: Chelan County Assessor
Chelan County Assessor Wes Cornelius invites property owners and all interested parties to attend one of four community meetings scheduled this spring throughout the county.
He drove her to the Secure Crisis Residential Center (SCRC) at the Chelan County Juvenile Center in Wenatchee, one of only two SCRCs left in the state. The center serves as a safe temporary placement for mostly children who have run away from home but also for those found in dangerous circumstances.