King County Executive Dow Constantine on Wednesday nominated William Hayes, a 30-year veteran, to serve as the new director of the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention. Hayes has served as the interim director since February.
If confirmed by the Metropolitan King County Council, Hayes would oversee jails, community corrections, and juvenile detention.
The King County Correctional Facility in Seattle and Regional Justice Center in Kent house nearly 2,000 adults, while the Community Corrections Division provides several programs, including work release, day reporting, and electronic home detention. King County’s Juvenile Division provides programs and educational opportunities to about 55 juveniles.
“Willie has earned the trust and respect of our staff during his 30-year career with the department,” Constantine said in a county media release. “During my first term, we made significant progress in improving our operations to be more efficient and more effective. We have the opportunity to build on that success and make this department a national model for effective – and productive – adult and juvenile detention.”
Hayes started as a corrections officer in 1984 and steadily worked his way up the ranks, promoting to sergeant, captain, major and facility commander. He was named interim director when Constantine appointed Claudia Balducci as the Justice System Improvement Manager.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity and look forward to continuing the important reforms we’ve made in recent years,”Hayes said. “I’m proud of the work our staff does to make our communities safer and help people turn their lives around.”
During Constantine’s first term, a Lean collaboration between Public Health – Seattle & King County and the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention improved psychiatric services in jails by ensuring they are focused on the right people to ensure the best results.
“We have a proud tradition in King County of working together across multiple departments to achieve a shared goal,” Hayes said. “We will continue to focus on results to make our communities safer and help those who are in our system succeed.”
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