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Gov. Jay Inslee signs executive order committing Washington to Reentry 2030
Summary
Governor Jay Inslee signed an executive order formalizing Washington's participation in Reentry 2030. State and federal officials highlighted targets — IDs, housing, Medicaid enrollment and expanded education — while returning citizens described how prison programs supported their transitions.
TACOMA — Governor Jay Inslee signed an executive order Tuesday launching Washington’s commitment to Reentry 2030, a national initiative that aims to improve outcomes for people leaving jails and prisons by coordinating services across state agencies and expanding access to housing, identification, health care and education.
“Because what we’re doing basically is telling everyone who leaves our custody in our department of corrections, a statement, which is we have provided you the services you need to succeed in outside of our walls,” Inslee said, adding: “So good luck, now don’t come back.”
The executive order sets specific, agency-facing goals cited by Inslee at the University of Washington Tacoma event: ensuring people leave custody with identification (and driver’s licenses when eligible); establishing housing for an initial post-release period (Inslee referenced three and six month benchmarks in his remarks); making people Medicaid-eligible 90 days before release; and expanding access to college programs and Pell Grants for incarcerated students.
State and federal partners joined the announcement. Luis Diaz, senior policy advisor with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, said BJA has administered the Second Chance Act since 2009 and has supported more than 1,200 grantees across 49 states and territories. Diaz said BJA has provided roughly $21,000,000 across programs in Washington and welcomed the state’s Reentry 2030 commitment.
Marshall Clement, deputy director of the Council of State Governments Justice Center, said Washington has moved the needle on recidivism and urged expanding strategies that work. He cited research showing that investments in recidivism-reduction efforts can be highly cost-effective, saying the Washington State Institute for Public Policy estimated a large return on investment for such spending.
Inslee highlighted statewide progress on recidivism, saying: “We have reduced the recidivism rate within 3 years of release from prison from 33 percent to 22 percent.” He framed the executive order as a public-safety strategy: by providing services and removing barriers, the state aims to prevent people from reoffending and returning to custody.
Two people with lived experience described how reentry programs helped them transition. Adolphus Redding said he spent “31 of the last 34 years of my life incarcerated,” credited correctional education, vocational training and volunteer programs with his progress, and said he now works as a machinist apprentice at Tool Gauge. Buffy Henson, a Correctional Industries employee and 2023 Rising Star Award recipient, said workforce development supports helped her secure work and advance professionally; she told the room she started a job “just 6 days after my release.”
Organizers described the executive order as a whole-of-government effort; Inslee named agencies expected to participate, including licensing, Employment Security, the Department of Social and Health Services, the Health Care Authority, L&I, Commerce and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. The signing was ceremonial and did not involve a legislative vote.
The event concluded with a group photo onstage and a reception at Columbia Bank Hall.
