PORT ANGELES – Clallam and Jefferson have joined 20 other counties plus the Washington State Association of Counties in a lawsuit against the state Department of Social and Health Services.
“The legal action challenges DSHS’s decision to discontinue providing initial evaluation and subsequent treatment to individuals in need of behavioral health support upon their release from the criminal legal system,” Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney James Kennedy wrote in a press release issued Wednesday.
“To ensure immediate compliance with state law and court orders, the counties have also submitted a motion for preliminary injunction,” the release said.
Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols said in an email on Wednesday: “(The lawsuit) seeks to force the agency to evaluate and treat civil conversion patients with behavioral health conditions and provide proper notice when releasing when releasing, transferring or granting leave to commitment patients.
“It is unfortunate that counties have had to resort to litigation,” Nichols said.
“However, DSHS’s refusal to evaluate and treat civil conversion patients with behavioral health conditions as required by law is simply unacceptable from a public safety perspective,” he wrote.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Pierce County Superior Court. The hearing for the counties’ motion for a preliminary injunction could occur as early as Sept. 8.
“This lawsuit follows repeated court order violations by the state and is filed out of concern for behavioral health patients and the safety of the public,” Nichols wrote.
When charges are dropped against a defendant and the state won’t offer mental health treatment at a psychiatric facility, such as Western State Hospital in Lakewood, oftentimes the only recourse is to return the former defendant to the community.
Besides Clallam and Jefferson counties and WSAC, the coalition includes the following 20 counties: Asotin, Cowlitz, Douglas, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, King, Kitsap, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Pacific, Pierce, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston, Whatcom and Yakima.
“When a person with a severe mental health condition or cognitive disability has their charges dismissed due to their inability to understand them, a court order requires DSHS to evaluate and, if necessary, provide effective behavioral health treatment,” according to Kennedy’s press release.
“Despite clear statutory and court-ordered legal requirements, DSHS has claimed that it is no longer obligated to evaluate or treat patients whose charges have been dismissed, citing a federal judge’s orders in a separate case,” Kennedy said.
He added that this “leaves hundreds of individuals across the state without access to vital mental health treatment that could help break the cycle of re-offense. In Jefferson County, this directly impacts our community members and the situation is untenable.”
When charges are dropped against people found incompetent to stand trial, and the state fails to offer mental health treatment at a psychiatric facility, such as Western State Hospital in Lakewood to former defendants, those people are released back into the community without treatment.
“DSHS’s failure to provide restoration services then places the burden on counties, despite state law mandating the state to do so,” Kennedy said.
”This harmful cycle perpetuates the state’s lack of responsibility towards care, leaving individuals at risk of re-offending and repeating the legal process without any interruption for care and treatment.”
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@soundpublishing.com.
