Green Hill School (Chehalis, Washington)

Green Hill School is part of Washington state's correctional system under the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, and is the state's only maximum security penitentiary for youths.[1] It is located in the South Market district of Chehalis on I-5, next to Recreation Park.

Green Hill School
Green Hill School, 2022
Address
375 SW 11th Street

Chehalis, Washington
98532
Coordinates46°38′59″N 122°57′44″W
Information
School typeYouth detention center
Established1891 (as Washington State Reform School)
School districtChehalis School District
Websitewww.dcyf.wa.gov/services/juvenile-rehabilitation/residential-facilities/green-hill/

The school is independently managed by the Washington Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).[2] It provides "academic classes and vocational training and works" for adolescent males who have been incarcerated.

History

Begun by law in 1891 under the name, Washington State Reform School (changed in 1915 to Washington State Training School), it was originally open to both girls and boys as young as 8 years old who were orphaned or convicted of a crime. Young women would be sent to a girls-only reform school, named Maple Lane, in Grand Mound beginning in 1913.[3]

The school faced severe damages totaling $2 million from the 1949 Olympia earthquake. Two buildings were torn down in the aftermath and two dormitories were declared as condemned. Over 30 boys were sent home, to be recalled back later, due to crowded conditions from the lack of housing at the school.[4]

Despite being a place of incarcerated individuals, the training school initially did not have any fencing or attentive security, allowing students to escape with some ease until the 1970s. The facility undertook the moniker, Green Hill School, and only older adolescent males are placed in the school.[3]

The Green Hill School was reassigned under the oversight of the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) in July 2019, part of a statewide transfer of juvenile facilities from the state's Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).[5]

Audits and lawsuits

A 2019 federal audit, part of a mandated 3-year inspection under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA), found that the facility was out of compliance regarding the proper proportion of employees to residents which led to an increase of sexual abuse and a vulnerability for other safety issues. The report stated that the school is required to have an 8:1 staff to detainee ratio. A following inspection that same year by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (LNI) found no health code violations but advocated for additional inspections for the safety and training of staff.[5]

In 2021, a sexual abuse lawsuit originally filed in 2018 was settled for $2.1 million. The case, brought by 10 former juvenile residents, stem from allegations of a pattern of pervasive abuse occurring at the facility between 1976 and 2008.[6] Additionally in the same year, a guard was convicted of a federal bribery charge after an FBI investigation revealed the employee accepted cash over several years from school residents or their family, in exchange for providing contraband, such as marijuana and cell phones.[7]

An investigation started in 2022 by a combined task force of local and Washington state agencies, known as the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET), began after a teenage resident survived a fentanyl overdose at the school. The JNET was able to seize more than 1,000 pills and it led to drug charges of four people. Hiring practices were augmented after an incident that year when a security officer, who was previously an inmate at Green Hill, was involved in a drive-by shooting with a recently released student. The JNET investigation renewed in 2023 after additional reports of drugs on the campus. During a warrant search, JNET found numerous stores of contraband taken from students going back years, including large amounts of illicit substances and detailed information on illegal transactions.[8][9]

School site and properties

The school grounds include the Lewis County Juvenile Court Administration and courthouse. Directed by a county approved contract of $7.2 million, the administration buildings, including an additional courtroom and outdoor recreation areas, were remodeled and enlarged in 2023.[10]

References
  1. Murphy, Patricia (July 17, 2017). "When people in charge are mostly white, what's a black kid in jail to think?". KUOW.org. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  2. Ingalls, Chris (February 4, 2020). "Riot highlights ongoing safety problems at Washington juvenile lockup". King 5 News (Seattle, Washington). Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  3. Ott, Jennifer. "Washington State Reform School opens in Chehalis on June 10, 1891". HistoryLink.
  4. Jones, Pat (February 17, 2007). "1949 Was Earth-Shaking, Heart-Breaking Time Here". The Chronicle. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  5. Ingalls, Chris (August 8, 2019). "'Significant staff shortages' pose dangers at Washington's juvenile lock-up, audit says". KING 5 News (Seattle, Washington). Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  6. "State settles Chehalis juvenile facility sex abuse lawsuit for $2.1M". FOX 13 News (Seattle). Associated Press. September 11, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  7. "Ex-detention center guard pleads guilty to taking bribes". Associated Press. July 6, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  8. King 5 staff (September 7, 2023). "Search warrant served as part of drug investigation at Chehalis juvenile detention center". KING 5 News (Seattle). Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  9. The Chronicle staff (September 7, 2023). "JNET serves warrant, seizes evidence at Green Hill School after reports narcotics were distributed by staff member, overdoses not reported". The Chronicle. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  10. Vander Stoep, Isabel (March 24, 2023). "Lewis County Cuts Ribbon on New Juvenile Courthouse at Green Hill School". The Chronicle. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
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