A fight breaks out in the cafeteria. In the heat of a disagreement between two high school students, a glass of water is thrown hitting someone in the head and splattering on the floor. Police are called to the school. From that moment in the cafeteria, the youth who threw the water is now involved with the criminal legal system.
For the past two years, Restorative Community Pathways (RCP) creates another path for King County youth. A community-based diversion program in partnership with King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS), the program aims to achieve four things:
- Create meaningful and immediate accountability for young people.
- Reduce young people’s interactions with the criminal legal system now and in the future.
- Move away from a decades-old punitive system, toward evidence-based community diversion programs that help in healing.
- Provide harmed parties with access to restitution funds and social services.
The average age of a RCP youth in the program is 16 years old. More than half of the youth in the program identify as people of color. The most common cases referred to RCP are shoplifting, school fights, and some cases of robbery. Cases involving domestic violence or serious injury are not eligible.
Recognizing that youth of color are arrested 1.7 times more than white youth, and Black youth at a rate of 2.3 times more than white youth, King County is looking for better approaches that reduce disproportionality and create a healthier, more equitable path forward.
RCP’s restorative practices are available to young people who have committed a harmful act as well as people who have experienced a harmful action against them. Focused on healing, RCP works to restore accountable and caring relationships between people while also offering resources and connection through peer support and mentorship.
For two years, prosecutors have had the option to divert any youth 17 and under charged with eligible first-time felonies and misdemeanors to the program instead of filing charges. We are making the first full two years of data available now. Here are some participant highlights:
- More than 1,300 youth participants and people who have experienced harm have been referred to the program from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
- 88% of participants are increasing connection through peers and mentors in the community in the last year.
- 72% of participants exiting the program completed services in the last year. Participants complete the RCP program when they have made substantial progress on, or completed, goals and have a support system within their community.
- 87% of participants have had a basic need met such as housing, rent support, groceries, and mental and physical health in the last year.
Each quarter, the Performance Measurement and Evaluation team compiles a summary of data submitted by RCP partners that will be made available on our website. To learn more, go here.
