Whatcom County task force advances plan for jail‑co‑located behavioral care center and prosecutorial diversion

Prosecuting Attorney Eric Ritchie told the Whatcom County Interagency Public Records Task Force on June 16 that the office supports exploring a Nashville‑style in‑custody diversion program that would replace cells with a short‑term, trauma‑informed therapeutic setting for eligible people.

"This is a program that would benefit us greatly," Prosecuting Attorney Eric Ritchie said, adding that Nashville program leaders have reported very low recidivism so far — "they're talking about 7%" compared with a national average he cited as about 68%.

The proposals discussed would colocate a Behavioral Care Center (BCC) with the new jail. The BCC concept presented to the task force is structured as a voluntary diversion: people would agree to treatment and supports, and those who choose to leave or who are too psychiatrically acute to participate would be returned to custody. "It's voluntary," Ritchie said when asked directly; "if they don't want to participate any longer, then they'd go be going back into the jail." Melora (health department leader) described the proposed BCC environment as therapeutic and trauma‑informed and said participants often see the BCC as an opportunity for wraparound services rather than a jail environment: "they really start to say, oh, this this is an opportunity."

Task force members pressed on operational and legal details the group said must be resolved before any program launch. Questions raised included: eligibility and gatekeeping (the district attorney's office was described as the gatekeeper for admissions), how victims would be notified and consulted, how restitution would be handled if charges were diverted, whether the county has enough defense counsel to advise accused people considering diversion, and how diversion would affect jail bed needs and caseloads for defenders. Stark, a BCC work‑group participant, asked: "What happens with restitution?" and the group acknowledged that a specific answer has not yet been developed and would require further consultation.

Participants described several operational elements of the Nashville model that the local work group is studying: daily screening by representatives of the prosecutor, public defender and health departments to identify candidates for diversion; short‑term, trauma‑informed treatment instead of incarceration for eligible people; and a system for returning people to custody if treatment participation ends or psychiatric acuity requires a higher level of care. The task force also heard summary figures and estimates used in planning: a jail capacity planning figure referenced in the meeting as "684" (discussed as an estimate and as a number tied to long‑range planning), and Nashville data showing roughly a 75% completion/success rate for people who complete the BCC program while about 25% return to custody.

No formal motions or policy votes were taken on the BCC or diversion model at the meeting. Work group members said they will continue meetings, follow up with Nashville counterparts on open questions (including restitution), and refine operational protocols; the presenters emphasized the need for coordinated agreements among the prosecutor's office, public defender's office and health services to implement the model.

The conversation also placed the BCC discussion in the context of Whatcom County's larger behavioral health investments funded by a recent levy, with members noting the BCC was a component of the levy proposal and county planning. Several task force members urged more detailed planning on data, admissions criteria, defense counsel involvement, victim notification and restitution handling before any operational commitments are made.