Dear friends and neighbors,
Many of you have reached out to us to share your thoughts, questions, and concerns about the recent incident at Echo Glen Children’s Center. We understand your concern and worry.
Our highest priority is keeping our community, staff, and youth safe. That’s why we successfully secured funding in this year’s budget for a new perimeter fence around the Echo Glen campus. The design process has already been completed, and we’re hopeful that construction can begin this summer or fall.
We also worked this session to address the workforce shortage at Echo Glen. While the state has fully funded more security positions in the last few years, Echo Glen remains understaffed. This year’s state operating budget includes a cost-of-living & salary increase to help hire and retain security staff. We believe this additional funding will allow the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to continue hiring more qualified staff as quickly and safely as possible.
We are meeting with officials from DCYF, Snoqualmie Mayor Katherine Ross, King County officials, and public safety officials to discuss this incident and how agencies at every level can better collaborate on prevention, intervention, and emergency response long-term. In the event of another incident like this, the City of Snoqualmie and the King County Department of Emergency Management have created an escape notification system. You can learn more about the alert and sign up by clicking here.
We appreciate hearing from you, and we’re committed to keeping our community safe.
Sincerely,
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