Whatcom County task force adopts bimonthly schedule and discusses diversion programs, jail health consolidation

The Legal & Justice Systems Committee of the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force voted on Jan. 13 to change its regular meetings from monthly to bimonthly and discussed plans for expanding diversion programs, consolidating jail health services and preparing for a WASPC LEMAP assessment.

The committee voted unanimously to move its meeting frequency to once every two months and to try meeting on the fourth Friday from 11 a.m. to noon. Eric Ritchie made the initial motion to adopt a bimonthly schedule; the motion was seconded earlier in the meeting and carried once a quorum was present.

Diversion programs took up much of the committee's substantive discussion. Committee members described ongoing work to implement direct diversion for some lower-level felonies into municipal court and to develop diversion options for people with substance-use and mental-health conditions. Participants said beds and Health Department partnerships exist to support some diversions, and the LEAD program will monitor outcomes for direct-diversion cases.

"We're developing diversions right now," a county prosecutor and program lead said, explaining the immediate shift of certain lower-level district-court cases to municipal-court diversion and the plan to monitor completion. Committee members emphasized building measurement into program design. Raelene asked that measurement questions be considered at the outset; committee staff said county case-management software will include codes to record offers, acceptance and completion and should allow later tracking of reoffending.

The sheriff's office briefed the committee on a concurrent consolidation of medical, dental and behavioral-health services for jail facilities. The sheriff said the county moved from many separate contracts to a single contract with CHP Health Care Partners and is hiring a new correctional health care manager to coordinate services across adult and juvenile facilities.

"All of our services are under one umbrella right now," the sheriff said, describing the contractual consolidation and the intent to improve consistency and oversight across facilities. The sheriff added that the new manager will work for the sheriff's office and serve as a conduit among nurses, doctors and other providers.

Community providers raised concerns about how the contract transition was communicated and about changes that were noticed during the handoff, including medication-on-release practices and a reduction in reentry specialists. One participant said a staff member, Hannah Fisk, is compiling a spreadsheet of transition issues to share with the incoming correctional health manager.

Stephanie, who spoke about juvenile services, said the juvenile contract covers nursing hours only and increases nursing availability to seven days a week for two hours a day; an RFP for juvenile behavioral-health services is underway and may reduce some services previously provided by Lifeline for court-involved youth.

The sheriff also described plans for a WASPC LEMAP assessment, which examines jail operations against state accreditation standards and produces a public-facing report; he said the assessment would cost $5,000 and that full accreditation typically takes years of work.

Committee members also discussed recent administrative and rule changes affecting courts: the chair noted a Skagit County Superior Court administrative order limiting attorney Zoom appearances for certain hearings and reported that new caseload standards filed with the Supreme Court on Dec. 15, 2025, and effective Jan. 1, 2026, reduce the number of cases attorneys may carry, potentially worsening defense shortages and making diversion programs more important.

Votes at a glance

- Motion: Change regular meeting frequency to bimonthly (once every two months). Mover: Eric Ritchie. Second: (earlier second recorded). Outcome: approved unanimously.

- Motion: Change regular meeting day/time to fourth Friday, 11 a.m.–noon. Mover: Speaker 5. Second: Speaker 2. Outcome: approved unanimously.

Next steps and context

Committee members asked staff to continue developing measurement codes for diversion tracking, to coordinate onboarding and outreach for the correctional health care manager, and to bring a fuller presentation on the consolidated jail health contract to the full task force at a later date. The chair also asked that staff present on the new caseload standards and their practical implications at a future meeting.

(Reporting based on the Jan. 13, 2026 Legal & Justice Systems Committee meeting of the Whatcom County Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force.)