Thurston County eyes approving two-year criminal justice contract for substance recovery support

The Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) discussed the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) Contract K7016 for Criminal Justice Treatment Account (CJTA) funds yesterday, September 26.

The fund will provide substance use disorder treatment and recovery support services to individuals in the criminal justice system for two years.

“This is a contract that we have on a regular basis. It's approximately $740,000 for the two years from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2025,” Assistant County Manager Robin Campbell said.

Campbell explained that the funds came from the state funding, which county offices and departments then use.

Data Analyst Chelyn Sowers discussed the CJTA’s eligibility criteria and how the funds will be used.

“In terms of eligibility for these funds, a client must have a substance use disorder and charges filed by a prosecuting attorney to be eligible for CJTA funds,” said Sowers.

Sowers explained that in the past, the funds were used to cover pretrial services such as laboratory procedures.

“I'll just start with the Dispute Resolution Center. They provide restorative justice-facilitated dialogue, and the panel discussed providing an allocation of $1,600 per year. And that would cover two cases at a case rate of $800 per case,” Sowers explained.

Sowers also mentioned the following annual allocations specified under the latest CJTA plan:

• $16,000 to the Family Education and Support Services (FESS) for parenting classes
• $40,000 to Public Defense for substance use disorder assessment and domestic violence treatment
• $60,000 to Mental Health Court and Veterans Court, and District Court for urinalysis and recovery support
• $91,000 per year to the Thurston Mason Behavioral Health Administrative Service Organization for rental assistance and housing case management staff
• $141,333 to DUI - Drug Court for urinalysis and substance use disorder treatment for non-Medicaid-eligible clients and transportation
• A remainder of $20,000 per year goes towards administration

“The plan is to describe what all the local panel wants. It's not the official agreement. The panel does talk about funding allocations, and sub-contracts haven't been put together yet,” clarified Sowers.

The board has requested more information on whether they are the sole approving authority before a motion to approve the CJTA will be passed.

After the BoCC approves the CJTA, subcontracts with different agencies will be prepared for release.