RCW 72.78.030
Pilot program established -- Participation standards -- Selection criteria -- Advisory committee. (Expires June 30, 2013.)

(1) The department of community, trade, and economic development shall establish a community transition coordination network pilot program for the purpose of awarding grants to counties or groups of counties for implementing coordinated reentry efforts for offenders returning to the community. Grant awards are subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose.

     (2) By September 1, 2007, the Washington state institute for public policy shall, in consultation with the department of community, trade, and economic development, develop criteria for the counties in conducting its evaluation as directed by subsection (6)(c) of this section.

     (3) Effective February 1, 2008, any county or group of counties may apply for participation in the community transition coordination network pilot program by submitting a proposal for a community transition coordination network.

     (4) A proposal for a community transition coordination network initiated under this section must be collaborative in nature and must seek locally appropriate evidence-based or research-based solutions and promising practices utilizing the participation of public and private entities or programs to support successful, community-based offender reentry.

     (5) In developing a proposal for a community transition coordination network, counties or groups of counties and the department of corrections shall collaborate in addressing:

     (a) Efficiencies that may be gained by sharing space or resources in the provision of reentry services to offenders;

     (b) Mechanisms for communication of information about offenders, including the feasibility of shared access to databases;

     (c) Partnerships to establish neighborhood corrections initiatives as defined in RCW 72.09.280.

     (6) A proposal for a community transition coordination network must include:

     (a) Descriptions of collaboration and coordination between local community policing and supervision programs and those agencies and entities identified in the inventory conducted pursuant to RCW 72.78.020 to address the risks and needs of offenders under a participating county or city misdemeanant probation or other supervision program including:

     (i) A proposed method of assessing offenders to identify the offenders' risks and needs. Counties and cities are encouraged, where possible, to make use of assessment tools developed by the department of corrections in this regard;

     (ii) A proposal for developing and/or maintaining an individual reentry plan for offenders;

     (iii) Connecting offenders to services and resources that meet the offender's needs as identified in his or her individual reentry plan including the identification of community representatives or volunteers that may assist the offender with his or her transition; and

     (iv) The communication of assessment information, individual reentry plans, and service information between parties involved with [the] offender's reentry;

     (b) Mechanisms to provide information to former offenders regarding services available to them in the community regardless of the length of time since the offender's release and regardless of whether the offender was released from prison or jail. Mechanisms shall, at a minimum, provide for:

     (i) Maintenance of the information gathered in RCW 72.78.020 regarding services currently existing within the community that are available to offenders; and

     (ii) Coordination of access to existing services with community providers and provision of information to offenders regarding how to access the various type of services and resources that are available in the community; and

     (c) An evaluation of the county's or group of counties' readiness to implement a community transition coordination network including the social service needs of offenders in general, capacity of local facilities and resources to meet offenders' needs, and the cost to implement and maintain a community transition coordination network for the duration of the pilot project.

     (7) The department of community, trade, and economic development shall review county applications for funding through the community transition coordination network pilot program and, no later than April 1, 2008, shall select up to four counties or groups of counties. In selecting pilot counties or regions, the department shall consider the extent to which the proposal:

     (a) Addresses the requirements set out in subsection (6) of this section;

     (b) Proposes effective partnerships and coordination between local community policing and supervision programs, social service and treatment providers, and the department of corrections' community justice center, if a center is located in the county or region;

     (c) Focuses on measurable outcomes such as increased employment and income, treatment objectives, maintenance of stable housing, and reduced recidivism;

     (d) Contributes to the diversity of pilot programs, considering factors such as geographic location, size of county or region, and reentry services currently available. The department shall ensure that a grant is awarded to at least one rural county or group of counties and at least one county or group of counties where a community justice center operated by the department of corrections is located; and

     (e) Is feasible, given the evaluation of the social service needs of offenders, the existing capacity of local facilities and resources to meet offenders' needs, and the cost to implement a community transition coordination network in the county or group of counties.

     (8) The department of community, trade, and economic development shall convene a policy advisory committee composed of representatives from the senate, the house of representatives, the governor's office of financial management, the department of corrections, to include one representative who is a community corrections officer, the office of crime victims' advocacy, the Washington state association of counties, association of Washington cities, a nonprofit provider of reentry services, and an ex-offender who has discharged the terms of his or her sentence. The advisory committee shall meet no less than annually to receive status reports on the implementation of community transition coordination networks, review annual reports and the pilot project evaluations submitted pursuant to RCW 72.78.050, and identify evidence-based, research-based, and promising practices for other counties seeking to establish community transition coordination networks.

     (9) Pilot networks established under this section shall extend for a period of four fiscal years, beginning July 1, 2008, and ending June 30, 2012.

     (10) This section expires June 30, 2013.

[2007 c 483 § 103.]