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Judge says local treatment court funding restored; e-filing and community service programs moving forward
Summary
Judge Greer told the Shelton council the local treatment court overcame a recent funding shortfall and is fully funded through state grants; the court is also preparing for mandated e-filing and highlighted its community service and diversion efforts.
Judge Greer told the council the city’s treatment court recently faced a short funding gap but that the issue has been resolved and the program is fully funded through state sources.
“We had a bit of a funding crisis about 30 days ago, but we have fixed that. And so the court is fully funded, but all the funding comes from the state of Washington,” Judge Greer said.
Greer described the treatment court’s funding as covering treatment, interpreters, probation services and public defense support connected to state grants. He said a retired judge serving as a court facilitator is bilingual and paid via grant funding. Greer reported program outcomes to the council, saying that “we have nobody who has a new conviction since they graduated” while noting not all outcomes are perfect: one program graduate had a subsequent charge.
Greer also briefed council members on a mandated transition to electronic filing and case-management software. He said staff were trained and that e-filing through Odyssey and enterprise systems is required by the state court system: “It is not a choice. It's mandated by the state court system. We've been preparing for over a year.”
On alternatives to incarceration, Greer described the community service program, which the court uses to reduce jail costs and provide local work opportunities. He told the council the program paused temporarily for staff medical leave but has resumed.
Greer answered councilers’ questions about program scale: he said the court had “graduated about 20 people in general,” and that of those graduates one had a subsequent charge. He also discussed uncertainty around proposed changes to public-defender caseload guidance at the state Supreme Court and said the court had received no definitive change at present.
The presentation did not include future funding commitments beyond existing state grants; Greer said continued lobbying of state representatives and follow-up with grant sources would continue.
