Friday, December
1, 2000
DSHS Secretary Chooses Walla Walla Location for Secure Residential
Treatment House:
Sites in Snohomish and Spokane Counties are Alternative Locations
OLYMPIA - DSHS
Secretary Dennis Braddock today announced that a site near the State
Penitentiary in Walla Walla is his top choice for the secure
residential treatment house for sex offenders transitioned by the
courts out of the Special Commitment Center (SCC) on McNeil Island.
Braddock carefully
reviewed recommendations of the 13 member volunteer Secure Placement
Advisory Committee before making his decision. "I deeply
appreciate the hard work and dedication of each committee
member," Braddock said. "The state owes them a debt of
gratitude for their diligence in performing this difficult
task."
The location
Braddock chose is:
· Washington State
Penitentiary Site One, an empty field on the northeast corner of the
Department of Corrections property, on the west side of Highway 125,
some 200 feet from a prison guard tower. It is in the City of Walla
Walla.
If for some
unforeseen reason Site One cannot be used, Braddock picked three
other locations as possible alternative sites. They are:
· Washington State
Reformatory Farm near the City of Monroe in Snohomish County. This
is a rural site five miles south of the Reformatory off of Highway
203 at 203 St. SE.
· Medical Lake
State Complex Westlake Site in the Spokane County City of Medical
Lake. This is an isolated area near the shore of West Medical Lake.
· Airway Heights
Corrections Center Site One in the Spokane County City of Airway
Heights. This site is within a cyclone fence, but not inside the
prison perimeter, on the southwest corner of Department of
Corrections property near the corner of Sixth Avenue and Russell
Road.
Secretary Braddock
said the Department of Social and Health Services will work closely
with local officials and the Department of Corrections to meet their
requirements. "I understand that people will have a lot of
questions and concerns about this facility," Braddock said,
"So, we want to assure the public that we will do everything in
our power to keep the community safe."
DSHS is under order
from U.S. District Court Judge William Dwyer in Seattle to make
arrangements for "the community transition of qualified (SCC)
residents, under supervision, when they are ready for a less
restrictive alternative." The state could face sanctions of
more than $5,500 a day for non-compliance if it does not come up
with residential treatment housing for those that the courts release
from the SCC. Residents of the SCC, all of whom have previously
completed their criminal sentences, are transitioned to secure
community housing when the courts decide they are eligible to move
into residential treatment.
Under criteria
adopted by Braddock from recommendations by the Advisory Committee,
each house will have a maximum of three residents under close,
24-hour supervision, with one staff member for each resident during
all daytime and evening activities. All of these sites meet the
criteria of having qualified treatment providers nearby, along with
opportunities for jobs, vocational training, education and community
support activities.
The SCC on McNeil
Island currently houses 126 residents. Although there is no way to
know with certainty, DSHS expects the courts may release six
residents over the next nine months.
DSHS hopes to have
the first residential treatment house in operation by mid-March,
2001. A subsequent three-person house will probably be needed by May
of 2001. The Advisory Committee and the Secretary may consider the
alternative sites on today's list for the second site. However, the
department will be exploring other sites, possibly including some on
private property. All sites on the current list are on state
government owned land.
The Advisory
Committee recommended the Reformatory Farm as its top choice on the
condition that the five-minute response time by law enforcement
could be met. Because of the uncertainty about the response time,
Braddock moved the committee's second choice of Walla Walla Site One
to the top of the list. The Reformatory Farm was dropped to the
alternative list.
The committee's
third choice of Medical Lake Westlake remains on the alternative
list. Braddock added the Airway Heights Site One as an additional
alternative. Walla Walla, Medical Lake and Airway Heights all meet
the five-minute response time criterion.
Preliminary DSHS
estimates are that the cost of secure residential housing could run
between $200,000 and $300,000 per resident, per year.
Additional details
about criteria and site selection are available at http://www.wa.gov/dshs/
online.
Modified:
Friday, December 1, 2000
Inquiries about DSHS and its programs:
Constituent Services, Ask
DSHS
or call 1-800-737-0617 for Washington State information.
Technical Site Comments: webmaster@dshs.wa.gov
©1998 Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
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