Two years ago, Excelsior Youth Center couldn't get out of the headlines. 

Kids staying in Excelsior's residential child welfare program were constantly running away and landing on the street. Neighbors of the center in northwest Spokane were getting aggravated with the crime. And the state had to be careful about placing foster kids who need behavioral health treatment at Excelsior, especially if those kids had a history of running away from placement. 

But it appears the issue with kids running away from Excelsior has turned around. Data from the Spokane Police Department shows a drastic drop in runaway reports and calls in 2018. There were 910 runaway reports in 2017, according to SPD data. In 2018, there were only 65. 

Put another way, an average 75 runaways per month in 2017 dropped to about five runaways per month in 2018. 

To read the full article written by Wilson Criscione, click HERE