Association backs HB 1391 to create statewide diversion data reporting

The Washington Association of Juvenile Court Administrators supported House Bill 1391, passed in 2025, to strengthen diversion and fund an ongoing statewide diversion research project, officials said on the Washington Courts Report podcast.

"The data and the report will include how many diversions are entered statewide and hopefully by county," said Jack Murphy, Douglas County Juvenile Court Administrator and incoming association president. He said the study will track successful completions, refusal rates, offenses referred, and referrals from law enforcement and schools. Murphy described the work as a collaboration with the Administrative Office of the Courts and a contracted researcher.

Association leaders said inconsistent local practices made prior statewide counting impossible. "The collection of data around diversion has been an ongoing problem for WADKA because we are a non-unified court system," Murphy said, noting individual counties operate different diversion models. Chris Simmons Meyer, Clark County Juvenile Court Administrator and the association's current president, said the mapping and reporting will let policymakers compare programs and outcomes and better target funding and training.

Advocates on the episode said the new data should allow evaluation of which diversion approaches reduce recidivism and which populations are under-served. The guests framed HB 1391 as a step toward evidence-driven juvenile justice policy rather than a change in statutory eligibility; statutory authority for diversion remains with state law and local prosecuting attorneys, they said.

The association expects the report to inform legislative decisions about funding and program expansion once the contracted researcher compiles county-level results.