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Court officials urge citywide therapeutic‑court approach, seek staff and data support
Summary
Court representatives briefed the committee on expanding therapeutic‑court practices across municipal court—requesting a court support services unit, certified peer support specialists, and IT/data capacity plus a $14,000/year text‑reminder system to boost appearances—while council members requested fiscal and outcome data before committing funding.
Court leaders told the Community Vitality and Safety Committee on April 23 they want to expand a therapeutic‑court approach across Tacoma’s municipal court, connecting people to case management, treatment and housing resources from arraignment through case closure.
Commissioner Johnson and court staff described two existing therapeutic models — a behavioral health court (launched June 2023) and a community court — and said they produce clinical and programmatic benefits but reach only a portion of eligible people because of barriers including warrants, lack of reentry supports and unstable contact information.
"We would like to apply a therapeutic court approach to our entire court system," the court team said, describing proposals to expand and stabilize therapeutic court positions, create a court support services unit (pretrial and post‑disposition support), hire certified peer support specialists and add IT/data staff to track outcomes. The presentation included a request for an automated text‑reminder system, which staff estimated would cost about $14,000 a year and increase court appearance rates.
Councilmembers pressed presenters for baseline data and fiscal projections. Commissioner Johnson described operational constraints around warrants and release decisions, saying that when a warrant has been outstanding for months a judge must weigh whether an individual will reappear if released. "Are they likely to reappear if I release them again? Quite often, the answer is no," Johnson said, explaining how that dynamic reduces opportunities to enroll eligible people in therapeutic programs.
Court staff acknowledged that local evidence of cost savings is limited without improved data collection and said they are seeking IT support and a data analyst "so we can answer every question that's asked of us" about pretrial services, referral patterns and recidivism outcomes. Councilmembers signaled support for the proposal’s goals but repeatedly asked staff to return with concrete financial analyses showing potential savings relative to incarceration and jail booking costs.
Why it matters: the proposal would change how many low‑level cases are handled in Tacoma by prioritizing treatment and supervised reentry over routine prosecution and incarceration for eligible people. If funded, the proposal would require new or reallocated city positions and ongoing funding stability for roles now paid by state or federal grants.
The committee did not vote on funding at the April 23 meeting; court staff said they will return with fiscal data and additional detail on staffing and measurable outcomes.
