Council recognizes May as National Treatment Court Month in Snohomish County

Snohomish County Council on Wednesday adopted resolution 25-022 recognizing May 2025 as National Treatment Court Month in Snohomish County and heard remarks from local judges and court staff about therapeutic courts’ role in connecting people to services.

Judge Beth Fraser, the incoming presiding judge for Snohomish County District Court, spoke on behalf of the district and superior courts and thanked the council for the recognition. “Therapeutic courts really have an opportunity to give the additional help that some of our community need in order to be successful,” Fraser said. She described the collaborative nature of specialty courts and introduced several Snohomish County court staff and partners in the room, including a court administrator, deputy court administrator, the therapeutic-courts program supervisor, and longtime specialty-court officers.

Fraser said participants are connected to services they are entitled to and that seeing people progress is rewarding for court staff. The council approved the resolution by voice vote, 5–0.

Why it matters: treatment and specialty courts provide alternatives to traditional criminal-court processing for people with substance-use or behavioral-health needs; local court leaders highlighted the county’s teams and the availability of open hearings for observers.

Supporting details: Fraser listed staff members who work on therapeutic courts and noted collaboration between district and superior courts. She invited council members to observe open court proceedings and described the program staff’s roles in helping participants access services.

The resolution is ceremonial recognition of National Treatment Court Month; no funding or policy changes were included in the council action.