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Juvenile diversion report underway; Yakima shows faster hearings and caregiver reporting
Summary
Court administrators said 10 superior courts are participating in a Family and Juvenile Court Improvement Program; Yakima County reduced average days to first hearing from 7 to 2 and increased timely six-month reviews from 79% (2023) to 84% (2025). AOC's researcher is drafting a diversion report to standardize definitions and data.
Jack Murphy, representing the Association of Juvenile Court Administrators, gave an update on juvenile justice initiatives and an AOC-led diversion research effort. He said 10 superior courts are participating in the Family and Juvenile Court Improvement Program and shared early performance numbers.
"10 superior courts in Washington are participating in that program right now," Jack Murphy said, providing outcomes from pilot sites: Yakima County increased timely six-month reviews from 79% in 2023 to 84% in 2025, oral caregiver reports rose from 0 in 2024 to 37 in 2025, and average days to first hearing dropped from 7 to 2.
Murphy said the diversion report being compiled by an AOC researcher will try to capture the wide range of diversion practices — from law-enforcement deflection to school-based informal diversion — and the difficulty of defining a single statewide diversion metric.
Representative Jamila Taylor asked for follow-up information to inform legislative decisions; Murphy agreed to provide updates and said ongoing collaboration with DCYF and stakeholders will feed the report and future policymaking.
