RCW 71.24.450
Offenders with mental illnesses—Findings and intent.
(1) Many offenders with acute and chronic mental illness are delayed in their release from Washington correctional facilities due to their inability to access reasonable treatment and living accommodations prior to the maximum expiration of their sentences. Often the offender reaches the end of his or her sentence and is released without any follow-up care, funds, or housing. These delays are costly to the state, often lead to psychiatric relapse, and result in unnecessary risk to the public.
Many of these offenders lack the skills or emotional stability to maintain employment or even complete applications to receive entitlement funding. Housing and appropriate treatment are difficult to obtain.
This lack of resources, funding, treatment, and housing creates additional stress for the offender with mental illness, impairing self-control and judgment. When the mental illness is instrumental in the offender's patterns of crime, such stresses may lead to a worsening of his or her illness, reoffending, and a threat to public safety.
(2) It is the intent of the legislature to create a program to provide for postrelease mental health care and housing for a select group of offenders with mental illness entering community living, in order to reduce incarceration costs, increase public safety, and enhance the offender's quality of life.
[ 2019 c 325 § 1027; 1997 c 342 § 1.]
NOTES:
Effective date—2019 c 325: See note following RCW 71.24.011.
Severability—1997 c 342: "If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected." [ 1997 c 342 § 6.]
Structure Revised Code of Washington
Chapter 71.24 - Community Behavioral Health Services Act.
71.24.015 - Legislative intent—Community behavioral health system.
71.24.030 - Grants, purchasing of services, for community behavioral health programs.
71.24.035 - Director's powers and duties as state behavioral health authority.
71.24.045 - Behavioral health administrative services organization powers and duties.
71.24.062 - Psychiatry consultation line—Implementation.
71.24.063 - Partnership access lines—Psychiatric consultation lines—Data collection.
71.24.064 - Partnership access lines—Psychiatric consultation lines—Funding—Performance measures.
71.24.067 - Partnership access lines—Psychiatric consultation lines—Review.
71.24.068 - Telebehavioral health access account.
71.24.115 - Recovery navigator programs—Reports.
71.24.125 - Grant program—Treatment services—Regional access standards.
71.24.135 - Expanded recovery support services program—Regional expanded recovery plans.
71.24.160 - Proof as to uses made of state funds—Use of maintenance of effort funds.
71.24.200 - Expenditures of county funds subject to county fiscal laws.
71.24.215 - Sliding-scale fee schedules for clients receiving behavioral health services.
71.24.220 - State grants may be withheld for noncompliance with chapter or related rules.
71.24.250 - Behavioral health administrative services organizations—Receipt of gifts and grants.
71.24.260 - Waiver of postgraduate educational requirements—Mental health professionals.
71.24.350 - Behavioral health ombuds office.
71.24.370 - Behavioral health services contracts—Limitation on state liability.
71.24.380 - Purchase of behavioral health services—Managed care contracting—Requirements.
71.24.383 - Managed care organization contracting—Requirements.
71.24.400 - Streamlining delivery system—Finding.
71.24.405 - Streamlining delivery system.
71.24.415 - Streamlining delivery system—Authority duties to achieve outcomes.
71.24.430 - Coordination of services for behavioral health clients—Collaborative service delivery.
71.24.435 - Behavioral health system—Improvement strategy.
71.24.450 - Offenders with mental illnesses—Findings and intent.
71.24.455 - Offenders with mental illnesses—Contracts for specialized access and services.
71.24.460 - Offenders with mental illnesses—Report to legislature.
71.24.510 - Integrated comprehensive screening and assessment process—Implementation.
71.24.520 - Substance use disorder program authority.
71.24.525 - Agreements authorized under the interlocal cooperation act.
71.24.530 - Local funding and donative funding requirements—Facilities, plans, programs.
71.24.535 - Duties of authority.
71.24.545 - Comprehensive program for treatment—Regional facilities.
71.24.555 - Liquor taxes and profits—City and county eligibility conditioned.
71.24.560 - Opioid treatment programs—Pregnant individuals—Information and education.
71.24.565 - Acceptance for approved treatment—Rules.
71.24.570 - Emergency service patrol—Establishment—Rules.
71.24.575 - Criminal laws limitations.
71.24.580 - Criminal justice treatment account.
71.24.585 - Opioid and substance use disorder treatment—State response.
71.24.589 - Substance use disorders—Law enforcement assisted diversion—Pilot project.
71.24.594 - Opioid overdose reversal medications—Education—Distribution—Labeling—Liability.
71.24.597 - Opioid overdose reversal medication—Coordinated purchasing and distribution.
71.24.598 - Drug overdose response team.
71.24.599 - Opioid use disorder—City and county jails—Funding.
71.24.605 - Fetal alcohol screening and assessment services.
71.24.610 - Interagency agreement on fetal alcohol exposure programs.
71.24.615 - Chemical dependency treatment expenditures—Prioritization.
71.24.625 - Uniform application of chapter—Training for designated crisis responders.
71.24.640 - Standards for certification or licensure of evaluation and treatment facilities.
71.24.645 - Standards for certification or licensure of crisis stabilization units.
71.24.647 - Standards for certification or licensure of triage facilities.
71.24.649 - Standards for certification or licensure of mental health peer-run respite centers.
71.24.650 - Standards for certification or licensure of a clubhouse.
71.24.660 - Recovery residences—Referrals by licensed or certified service providers.
71.24.710 - Reentry services—Work group.
71.24.715 - Reentry services—Waiver application.
71.24.720 - Less restrictive alternative treatment—Transition teams.
71.24.850 - Regional service areas—Report—Managed care integration.
71.24.855 - Finding—Intent—State hospitals.
71.24.861 - Behavioral health system coordination committee.
71.24.870 - Behavioral health services—Adoption of rules—Audit.
71.24.885 - Medicaid rate increases—Review authority—Reporting.
71.24.893 - National 988 system—Crisis response improvement strategy steering committee.
71.24.894 - National 988 system—Department reporting—Audit.
71.24.896 - National 988 system—Duties owed to public—Independent contractors.
71.24.898 - National 988 system—Technical and operational plan.