Whatcom committee reviews Trueblood decision, hears exec office grant denial and next steps

Christopher Quinn, civil legal counsel for the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office, told the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force’s Legal & Justice Systems Committee on May 13 that the Trueblood litigation required Washington to speed competency evaluations and restoration services for defendants with serious mental illness.

“The True Blood decision is a landmark class action lawsuit in the state of Washington,” Quinn said, explaining that the case — filed in February 2014 against the state Department of Social and Health Services — challenged delays in competency evaluations and restoration care that left people detained in jail for extended periods and at risk of constitutional harms.

The committee moved from legal context to local funding: members said the county’s application for a round of Trueblood-related funds from the state was denied. Committee members asked the executive’s office for a fuller explanation and pushed for a possible reapplication tied to supportive housing and diversion services.

Why it matters: Trueblood requires timely competency evaluations and restoration services; delays strain local jails, courts and mental-health providers and can trigger state oversight or fines. Committee members said Trueblood-related funds could support diversion and housing programs intended to reduce jail stays for people with behavioral health needs.

Quinn described the legal thrust: courts must ensure evaluations and restoration occur without prolonged delay, and local courts now face greater case-management and coordination demands with health agencies. The committee discussed the local financial picture: Raelene reported about $36,900 sitting in a registry/trust account without disbursement orders; Quinn said the county previously received roughly $30,000 in fines that were not appealed but that other contempt findings and fines are being appealed by the state and are not available for disbursement.

Committee members asked why the county’s recent grant application was denied. Stephen said the proposal sought “a number of millions of dollars” for supportive housing tied to diversion and that Disability Rights Washington screened the judgment; he asked to see the denial letter and the application criteria. Raelene and other members said the executive’s office response — included in the meeting packet — was brief and suggested the partner agency could not meet its commitment. Several members named Whatcom Treatment Center as the intended community partner and said that partner’s inability to fulfill commitments appeared to be the reason the application failed.

No formal action or vote was taken. Committee members requested that the executive’s office provide a fuller written explanation of the denial and the specific deficiencies so the task force can determine whether reapplication is possible and what county support or clarification would be needed. Members also asked the prosecutor’s office and public defender representatives to report on whether local court processes are meeting Trueblood timing requirements now; public defenders and prosecutors on the call said delays have decreased and that the county is not seeing the same backlog of people held in jail awaiting evaluations that it used to.

The committee flagged several follow-ups: request a detailed denial letter and criteria from the executive’s office, get a breakdown of the registry/trust funds and appeal status for contempt fines, and evaluate how potential Trueblood funding would tie to planned diversion or housing projects.