[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6115511,"mediaKeyId","2738439-b0da5682a99436d0f552aeff6490f7a6","parentId",2738439,"title","Committee coordinates jail/BCC design engagement, IRA review for inmate focus groups and Duwali clinic tours","audioSeconds",535,"startMs",6213000,"endMs",6748000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2738439-b0da5682a99436d0f552aeff6490f7a6&start=6213&end=6748","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2738439-b0da5682a99436d0f552aeff6490f7a6/thumbnail_6213000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6115511/Whatcom-County/Washington/Committee-coordinates-jailBCC-design-engagement-IRA-review-for-inmate-focus-groups-and-Duwali-clinic-tours","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6115511-7bbd53def49cf5022989a83fe4d40426/orig.mp4?Expires=1776080556&Signature=a6pQt3ALH6uRoqVsUGaPOrhHHxapCjBkqn7AgElnfWb5zGKeUWYQRB5KSpF2xnRsZes7nI-3BfLQ45QNwBLLHCZHr-pHKDTDQanBci5YxQGW8xCd0jIoeApu2KYXHrk73cERB6m~oeHJqZGh3IIWqgSoMZgzu~-LaOJri95ngtfwDIowl1Jh3lh6rFXKRFSVaiQ2CM8OXhz~z6TnYuSO830goC-sjOkp1qwTNYElz2uflFc~dKhyJVAjI4O1PWIC3YeCUVWSH5yIzr2q3af8I8~wi03U5l7ZA5O0iIpbODh8UMA~BM59-Ud-ouXsUPDgn0kNsDWlunkpr1Vr2~Xs1w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Whatcom County, WA","date","2025-03-21T16:58:51Z","article","County staff and committee members used the March 20 meeting to update the Justice Project Oversight and Planning Committee on outreach and stakeholder‑engagement work tied to the jail and behavioral-care center design.

Marty, the committee’s staff liaison, said the county has contracted STV as an owner’s representative to coordinate stakeholder engagement for the jail and behavioral-care center (JLBCC) design. Marty said the STV coordination will affect timing for jail inmate focus groups, surveys and public forums.

Marty said the county has submitted an institutional review board (IRB) request and a project funding request to pay people who participate in inmate focus groups, because the research would involve a vulnerable population. \"We need to go through an IRB review,\" Marty said. Staff said they would meet with the IRB the day after the meeting and return with a timetable.

Communications staff described web and outreach plans. Marty showed an updated Justice Project web page and said a press release and social‑media posts about the site and reports will go out the following week. The communications plan includes short recorded excerpts from meetings and brief \"meet the JPOP\" profiles to increase transparency.

Committee members received logistics for upcoming visits and in‑person meetings. Dan and Marty said two tours of the Duwali wellness clinic are being arranged; April 4 was the top Doodle poll date and April 10 was a backup. Dan described Duwali’s mobile medical unit and said the site provides medical and behavioral-health services, including medication-assisted treatment. The clinic is about a 40‑minute drive from Bellingham; county transportation will be coordinated for participants.

The committee was reminded that its next meeting will be in person on April 17 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Week of Education Center, 511 East Holly Street, where members will continue the performance‑measurement conversation and review drafts for the IPRTF annual report.

No formal actions were taken. Staff asked members to send communications feedback and suggested content for the website by email and to watch for scheduling messages about the Duwali tours and the April in‑person meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","IPRTF - Justice Project Oversight and Planning Committee - March 20, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Committee members heard updates on jail and behavioral-care center design coordination with STV, an IRB request for inmate focus groups, website and communications plans, and upcoming tours of the Duwali wellness clinic in April.","taxTitle","Whatcom County, Washington","taxId",2976,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6115516,"Justice Project committee narrows outcome measures to track jail and behavioral-health results",3390,1595000,4985000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2738439-b0da5682a99436d0f552aeff6490f7a6&start=1595&end=4985","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2738439-b0da5682a99436d0f552aeff6490f7a6/thumbnail_1595000.jpg","/articles/6115516/Whatcom-County/Washington/Justice-Project-committee-narrows-outcome-measures-to-track-jail-and-behavioral-health-results","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6115516-044f894bc59899874844db7d9be4cb6e/orig.mp4?Expires=1776080556&Signature=OuNV8IncHM7fW3xExCgkmRdIre~xYxwNu4CUf0zl5za0R1PuFkOzAimdJzEnTz146HVyBu4zirYTGpVxnv8ARx2HEtVolLJb85kja5LGSsSOohHubcQLCeNPfhh1Ryk8bHGmGZA7Jv5Sk~8BGYUl8x1xFiBuUpYUiFGcVjlau9Blq9H46TlqXyEOVXB9yS96fH5VM8pesMI~xAeoaCDeR6y5Rr~Y70xvmsQMnVskPPd0f00IUcA2VNt4Ri0n6f84cmrvIzhh1QdswgnW6tc7fjnVQAF9Sg~FzDLOINYLRjNf3wmJj~34VHtfQc64CWcMTVZVQnKc9EtIsXqUKK2P6A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Justice Project Oversight and Planning Committee met March 20 and reviewed a draft performance measurement plan that applies four high-level outcome measures from the national Stepping Up initiative to Whatcom County’s justice and behavioral-health work.

Committee consultant Julia (VillageReach) told members the measures—jail bookings, jail length of stay, connections to treatment and recidivism—are intended to be disaggregated so the county can track outcomes specifically for people with serious mental illness while retaining the ability to look at the overall jail population. \"If we set up measures in a way that lets us disaggregate to look at the general or to look at the specific population that does have mental illness, that allows us to then also look at the general jail population,\" Julia said.

The nut graf: Committee members supported the high-level framing but repeatedly raised measurement and scope questions. Discussion focused on how to define and identify serious mental illness (SMI) for reporting, whether to expand measures to include substance-use disorders, how to capture racial disparities, and what data sources exist to produce the proposed indicators.

Members urged concrete definitions and data plans. Committee member Tasha pressed for clearer definitions tied to metrics: \"So that to me is just such a broad term…what does that mean?\" Other members said the county must inventory data sources before finalizing measures. Julia agreed, saying the next phase will test whether the county can measure the ideals raised now.

Multiple speakers asked the committee to include substance-use disorder and co-occurring disorders under the behavioral-health umbrella. \"We need to make sure we aren't overlooking that population or the population that carries both diagnoses,\" said Gene, recommending the language refer to \"behavioral health disorders\" rather than only \"mental illness.\"

Members also flagged racial disproportionality and court processes as central to any performance measurement effort. Miriam asked the group to \"address very directly and intentionally the fact that we have a small percentage of people of color in Whatcom County, but they make up a huge percentage of incarcerated people.\" Dean noted that competency-restoration pathways and slow court throughput affect length of stay and downstream outcomes.

Corrections and public-safety staff described available data and near-term reporting. A county corrections speaker said the jail’s average length of stay is about 19 days and that recent 2023–2024 reports include demographic breakdowns and offense-level detail; those reports will be shared with the committee. Sheriff Tanksley told the group the office can provide the data it collects but cautioned that some demographics are self-reported and that enrollment and reporting practices vary: \"We certainly can give this committee what we have. But we also have to be cognizant that the data which we have is self reported.\" Another committee member described existing local SMI definitions used in jail practice that combine diagnosis and functional impairment.

Members proposed submeasures and process steps to make the high-level measures usable: capture bookings that are repeat or pending-charge rebookings, track whether reduced bookings coincide with increased emergency-department visits, record whether prebooking diversion assessments are administered, and add race/ethnicity disaggregation. Several members recommended measuring workforce capacity, training pipelines and retention as a precursor metric because service capacity affects diversion and postrelease supports.

Committee members also discussed competency restoration and court-based interventions. Dean urged the committee to consider competency restoration pathways that include state hospitals and other facilities as part of length-of-stay dynamics. Multiple members asked staff to map existing diversion programs (for example, mental-health court and law-enforcement diversion) into the measurement framework.

The meeting closed with agreement to continue refining definitions, identify data sources and test feasibility before the committee finalizes target indicators. Julia asked members to send further input by email. The committee will reconvene in April to continue measurement planning.","The Justice Project Oversight and Planning Committee reviewed updated \"definitions of success\" and discussed four outcome measures from the national Stepping Up initiative—jail bookings, length of stay, connections to treatment and recidivism—while members flagged data gaps, racial disparities and workforce shortages.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee coordinates jail/BCC design engagement, IRA review for inmate focus groups and Duwali clinic tours

Justice Project committee narrows outcome measures to track jail and behavioral-health results