Eliminate the VCO Exception

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System Reform

Carol Freeman

VCO Carol F.ADJ

 

Would you think it is appropriate to detain a youth for a non-criminal offense? Federally, it is illegal to lock up a youth for a status offense, however, the valid court order exception, or VCO, is an exception that allows judges to lock up youth for non-criminal offenses. A status offense is the illegal behavior of a youth under age 18, such as running away from home, skipping school, and staying out past curfew — all behaviors that would not be criminal if committed by an adult. Washington state has the highest rate of detention for status offenses in the country. In 2016, there were 1,781 non-offender detention admissions.1

Incarceration has many negative consequences for adults, let alone youth. Behavioral/mental disorders, for example are worsened while in detention. For onethird of the incarcerated youth who are diagnosed with depression, the onset of the depression occurred after they began their incarceration. Outcomes for mental and social stability for later in life are worsened as well. PTSD is a disorder commonly developed and/or exacerbated in detention, which can lead to greater absence from work responsibilities later in life.

Mockingbird has advocated for the elimination of the use of VCOs for several years. Recently, there has been some success made in ending the use of VCOs in Washington state, with Representative Orwall being one of our great champions for this issue. In 2016, legislation was passed that created truancy boards. In 2017, a bill made it so the court had to prove it tried all other options before detaining youth for truancy. Unfortunately, since progress with VCOs has only been made in schools dealing with the truancy issues, we have yet to succeed in completely eliminating the use of detention for status offenses.

Regrettably, the thought of ending the use of VCOs has not been considered feasible by all. The lack of alternatives to detention has been a huge barrier to progress. Officials, unsure with what to do with these children, reluctantly place them in detention as they consider detention as the safest option they have available in their districts. Rural areas tend to lack resources, which contributes to a lack of community based options intended to keep children out of detention. Grays Harbor County, for example, has the highest rate of use of VCOs in the entire state.2

While some progress has been made in eliminating the use of VCOs, there is much more to be done to completely eliminate their use. If we come together as a community to hold constructive conversations to come up with creative and effective solutions in ending youth detainment for status offenses, we can find our own solutions. In Tacoma, perhaps increasing funding for youth-based community programs could provide youth a less restrictive alternative to detention. Ultimately, each community needs their own solutions and therefore legislation should allow for flexibility to adapt to their needs to fix this very complex problem.

As part of Mockingbird’s 2018 Advocacy Agenda, we will be advocating to pass legislation to phase out the use of secure detention for youth who commit status offenses. We urge you to stay updated on the progress of this issue by signing up for our Advocacy Alerts on our website and checking out our social media!

1 Washington State Center for Court Research. “Washington State Juvenile Detention 2016 Annual Report.”
Retrieved from
www.courts.wa.gov/subsite/wsccr/ docs/2016DetentionAnnualReport.pdf

2 Id.

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