Task force recommends loan program, oversight agency and staffing reforms for aging jails

Judge Pinnavar, reporting on the jail modernization task force convened by the legislature, said the group heard from a broad roster of stakeholders and concluded that while structures are only part of the problem, many facilities are aging and ill-suited to current service needs. He said the average facility age found in a prior Washington Institute of Public Policy survey is 34.7 years and that the task force’s majority recommendations include a competitive, two-pool loan program with loan forgiveness for compliance and creation of a centralized jail oversight agency.

The task force also recommended updates to staffing models and retirement benefits for correctional officers, expansion of telehealth and reentry supports, and consideration of Medicaid 1115 waivers to provide treatment up to 90 days before release. Pinnavar cautioned that the legislature would need to act to implement many recommendations and that full legislative buy-in was uncertain.