Whatcom County committee reviews trauma‑informed jail and behavioral care center design ideas

Whatcom County corrections leaders and consultants on Jan. 16 described design features they say can reduce harm and improve outcomes for people in custody while flagging staffing and service‑delivery questions that will affect planning.

At the Justice Project Oversight and Planning Committee meeting, Chief Corrections Deputy Caleb Erickson reviewed site visits to Franklin County, Ohio; Davidson County, Tennessee (Nashville); Middlesex County, Massachusetts; and regional facilities and summarized design elements the sheriff’s office is considering for a replacement jail and a Behavioral Care Center (BCC). “Safety and security is really kind of a foundational element for all carceral facilities,” Erickson said, adding that the county should aim to reduce the operational burden on staff where possible.

Erickson said the office is considering direct supervision — placing deputies inside housing units — and a horizontal building plan that reduces elevator use, with mezzanines for additional capacity. He described trauma‑informed and biophilic elements seen on tours: murals, wood tones, natural light and “take 10” quiet rooms where a detained person may sit to self‑regulate. He cited Franklin County examples that locate medical, laundry, recreation and visitation adjacent to housing so services can be “brought to the detainees instead of bringing the detainees to the services.”

Why it matters: Committee members said these choices affect safety, staffing and program delivery. Direct supervision changes how many deputies are needed and how they are deployed; colocating services can reduce escorts and staff time but requires space and operational adjustments.

Details and discussion

Erickson said the Davidson County BCC is intended as a voluntary, clinically supervised diversion for people with mental health diagnoses charged with low‑level felonies or misdemeanors; the program is designed as a prosecutorial diversion that can result in dismissal of charges after successful completion. “It was a truly intended to be a complete diversion from prosecution,” Erickson said, noting the BCC model’s separate street entrance and apartment‑like housing. He said the Davidson County site’s stated program design capped stays at about 30 days with an observed average closer to 10 days.

Committee members pressed for evidence that design and programs reduce recidivism; Erickson and others said client outcome data are limited because many facilities are recently opened and follow‑up requires years. “I think it’s gonna take them several years to really have that data,” the sheriff’s office representative said.

Staff wellness and reentry supports

Erickson and others emphasized staff wellness features in modern facilities: large locker rooms, break spaces, secure parking and dedicated decompression rooms. A rapid resource center at the exit of Columbus‑area facilities was cited as a practical model for release: it provides clothing, phone‑charging stations and direct connections to community services immediately at discharge.

Committee members also discussed services to be provided in the facility — vocational training, education partnerships (examples mentioned include Bellingham Technical College), in‑unit medical and behavioral health care and a centralized kitchen to support workforce training. Hannah Sloan of Lifeline Connections (who spoke later in the meeting) and other service providers signaled interest in integrating community partners into programming.

Next steps and constraints

The committee noted that a formal owner’s representative contract is in process and that design work must align with that team’s timeline. Committee counsel Barry summarized membership rules: the subcommittee is governed by the ordinance that created the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force (2015), which allows the task force to set rules on proxies and permanent designees; members should notify staff when they will use a proxy.

Committee members requested more detailed staffing projections tied to chosen supervision models and asked staff to gather outcome studies and operational data from facilities with similar designs. Erickson said the county will continue site visits and coordinate with the owner’s rep and community partners as design and programming decisions evolve.